Comparisons with Warne and Muralitharan was difficult on me, admits Anil Kumble

07/23/2020

Former India captain Anil Kumble, who played 132 Tests, has revealed that comparisons with legendary spinners Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan had become difficult for him. With the Sri Lankan ended with 800 Test wickets, Warne comes second with 708 scalps in the longest format.

Former India captain and former coach Anil Kumble, who ended up with 619 Test wickets, is the most successful Indian bowler in the format. His numbers made him third on the list worldwide after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan(800) and Australia’s Shane Warne(708). In his 19-year-long career, the veteran leg-spinner also became the only Indian to bag 10 wickets in a single innings of a Test, against Pakistan at Feroz Shah Kotla.

However, the ICC Cricket Committee head faced a lot of difficulty during his career as he was constantly compared to Warne and Muralitharan. In a recent interaction on Instagram Live with Zimbabwe’s Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Kumble admitted that he was constantly compared to his Sri Lankan counterpart and was burdened by it.

“It was very difficult to compare since these two guys could spin the ball on any surface. It became very very difficult for me, when they started comparing me with Warne or Murali,” Kumble said.

“Murali, I would see him a lot more because India-Sri Lanka played very often. So it was always a congratulatory note coming for me from Murali after I pass on every milestone and Murali would be 30 wickets to the next one I would congratulate him in advance saying Murali, another 30 wickets to go for your 500, congratulations. He would say no no no, this is a long way. I would say that’s 3 Test matches for you,” Kumble added.

Kumble called time on his international career in 2008, after the Test series at home versus Australia in which India emerged victorious.