Anil Kumble Birthday: Did You Know 'Jumbo' is the First Spinner in Cricket History to take 200 ODI wickets?

Legendary India spinner Anil Kumble celebrates his 54th birthday today, October 17. Kumble finished his career as the most successful Test bowler in Indian cricket history. Kumble’s elegance and technique resulted in unplayable deliveries as the ball travelled through the air rather than hanging in. The former India skipper retired in 2008 capping off an illustrious career. Today let’s take a look at his career statistics, records and some interesting facts about him.

Anil Kumble’s Career Stats

Anil Kumble’s 18-year-long career saw him represent India in 132 Tests and 271 ODIs. In these matches, the legendary spinner scalped 956 wickets. While Kumble was mostly renowned for his immense work with the ball, he has also delivered some crucial batting performances for India.

In his career, Kumble has scored 3444 runs across the two formats. He also has a Test century to his name. He won the 2002 Champions Trophy and the 1995 Asia Cup.

Anil Kumble also competed in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for three seasons as a Royal Challengers Bengaluru player. He represented the franchise in 42 matches in IPL while taking 45 wickets.

Anil Kumble’s Records

Over the years, Anil Kumble has attained several records for India across formats.

He holds the record for the most dismissals by lbw (156) and most wickets taken caught and bowled (35) in Tests.

Kumble is the second-fastest player to reach 600 Test wickets. It took him 124 innings to reach the landmark milestone.

Kumble is also the leading wicket-taker for India across formats. He takes the fourth spot in the overall list with 956 wickets.

10 Interesting Facts About Anil Kumble

10 Interesting Facts About Anil Kumble

1. Anil Kumble holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from RVCE, Bengaluru.
2. He was known by the nickname ‘Jumbo’.
3. He took four wickets and bagged a pair in his First-class debut with Karnataka in the 1989-90 Ranji Trophy season.
4. In the 1993 Hero Cup final Kumble produced jaw-dropping figures of 6/12 against the West Indies.
5. In 1998, Kumble became the first spinner in cricket history to take 200 ODI wickets.
6. A shoulder injury in 2006 led to a massive downfall as Kumble retired a couple of years later in the Border-Gavaskar series.
7. He bowled the second most number of balls in Test matches (40,850).
8. Kumble produced a magical spell in IPL 2009 where he registered figures of 5/5.
9. In 2015, he became only the fourth Indian to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
10. Kumble even served as the Indian Team’s head coach. He was appointed by the BCCI in 2016.