Anil Kumble spoke ahead of IPL 2020 and recalled the days when he had to switch from being a paceman to spinner. What made him change? He has answered
Bengaluru: Former India captain Anil Kumble on Tuesday (February 18) recalled the days when he switched from being a fast bowler to leg-spinner.
Ahead of the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020), 49-year-old Kumble, who is now the coach of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), explained why he became a spinner from paceman during the early days of his career.
Also read: Full schedule of IPL 2020
“When I was young, bowling at the nets, all my senior players were at the nets, (they) said, 'I chuck, bowl with a bent elbow'. I was only 14. So I stopped (fast bowling),” Kumble said in a short video posted on KXIP’s Twitter account.
He always had it in him to turn the game! 😎
No wonder switched from being a pacer to a spinner! 🤙🏻 pic.twitter.com/IMDz8qu3yb
He continued, “Then I started bowling leg-spin. My brother told me to bowl leg-spin and that is how it started. I bowled leg-spin and the same year I represented Karnataka in Under-15 and since then I never looked back. The only time I did bowl medium pace was against Pakistan (in a Test in 2007) when I was captain, in the second innings in Bangalore, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. I felt, strategically if I bowled quicker I would get wickets because there was a crack (on the pitch) at a length.”
One of the greats of the game, Kumble played 132 Tests and 271 ODIs for India. He is India’s highest wicket-taker in both Tests (619) and ODIs (337). He was also Team India’s coach.