Fascinating trio

Anil Kumble, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan can be seen in action in the IPL but Test cricket will miss the two wonderful characters, Kumble and Warne, writes Vijay Lokapally.

End of an era! That’s how Sourav Ganguly reacted when he learnt that Anil Kumble was bowing out gracefully from all forms of cricket. The Indian Premier League is a contract that Kumble and Ganguly will be compelled to fulfill but the rich game of Test cricket will be poorer with the departure of one of its greatest icons, Kumble.

Kumble, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan lit up international cricket with their exceptional performances. When Richard Hadlee left a benchmark of 431 Test wickets, the figure of 500 looked magical. “Quite possible,” was how Kapil Dev reacted when he retired with 434 Test wickets.

Well, Warne went past the 700-mark; Kumble crossed 600 and Murali threatens to scale 1000 if he continues his march with the same intensity. He is just 36 and that is considered a young age for a spinner. Of course, Bishan Singh Bedi , a rabid critic of Murali, would have different views on the Sri Lankan spin wizard because of his action. But, as most former greats concede, Murali has the official sanction now and it would be unkind to refer repeatedly to his action.

The credit goes to Shane Warne for the revival of leg spin in an era where fast bowlers dominated international cricket. The Aussie took time to take off but once he developed his art there was none to stop him from crushing the opposition. Of course two batsmen stood out — Sachin Tendulkar and N. S. Sidhu — when it came to tackling the spinners.

Few have recognized Navjot Sidhu’s contribution to India. He reduced Warne to a mere spectator. In later years, none played Warne better than V. V. S. Laxman and this was acknowledged by none other than former England captain Nasser Hussain, who made these observations during a commentary stint.

Warne was one of a kind. His strong shoulder allowed him to impart that sting to the ball and the turn that he managed was huge. But his biggest quality was his ability to land the ball in the right area. It was as close to perfection as a bowler can dream of.

The mental toughness that Warne brought into his cricket meant that the batsmen had to be on their toes all the time when facing him. He rarely relaxed, not even when the opposition needed two to win with five wickets in hand. Such was his self-confidence.

Quite similar was Kumble, who evolved into one of the great spinners of all time after having started his career as a medium-pacer. He was a unique bowler who could be compared with Warne or Murali. “He was so accurate that the batsman was a dead duck if he tried to be adventurous against Kumble,” said long time mate Sidhu, who had always made runs against Warne and Murali.

“To me Warne was the greatest but Kumble and Murali were not far behind in terms of making an impact with their spin. They all had their strong points and were match-winners. In cricket, what counts is whether you can win matches on your own and these three greats could do it quite regularly,” said Sidhu.

According to former Test batsman Pravin Amre, who was rated a very good player of spin, these three bowlers took the game to a new level with their excellence. “Murali was a sensational bowler. His turn was as big as Warne’s and his use of the fingers gave such variety to the delivery.”

Murali was different in the sense that the batsmen could hardly read him. “How can you read a bowler who bowls with the back of his palm facing the batsman? He was very difficult to handle,” confessed Sidhu.

Even Kumble was hard to read. “Because he was not the traditional kind of spinner,” remarked Amre. The bounce and the pace that Kumble commanded left the batsmen with little options.

“Once I saw Kirti Azad get out to Kumble fending the ball to short leg. Kirti was shocked and I had a good laugh really. It was the first time I was seeing a batsman get out to a spinner in a manner that would do a fast bowler proud,” remembered Sidhu.

Murali’s point of delivery differs from those of Warne and Kumble but not the destination. No batsman could relax against this lethal trio. “Warne had a big heart. He was mentally very strong and he developed as a bowler with time. He had such a variety of balls and the zooter that he developed was outstanding,” noted Amre. Warne was a complete bowler. You name it and he had it.

Warne’s wrist position was the clinching factor and superior to Kumble’s and Murali’s. In fact, the Aussie needed no help from the pitch because he could turn the ball even on glass, just like Murali. “He always bowled what we batsmen call the trouble line,” said Amre.

Warne is acknowledged as the greatest leg-spinner, one who instilled a great sense of pride among the slow men. His supple wrist, strong shoulder and his range were a constant sources of worry for the opposition.

No bowler has ever exploited the ‘rough’ as Warne did and this made him an extremely dangerous bowler to face, not to forget his aggression that would have done a fast bowler proud.

Kumble had the enviable quality of extracting bounce. This bounce factor coupled with pace gave him the freedom to attack. He struggled initially but learnt fast and improved faster. “I remember Aravinda D’Silva (former Sri Lankan great) advising his colleagues to treat Kumble as an in-swing bowler and not worry about his spin. But credit to Kumble he rose to earn respect from the very same batsmen,” stressed Sidhu.

Kumble developed the slower one, a googly that was very effective and the flipper that caught the batsmen napping. “I think Kumble was the most accurate of the three,” said Amre. Kumble, being fast through the air, gave a new dimension to the art of spin, his trajectory and his accuracy adding to his stature as a bowler who evolved with time to the rising challenges in the game.

Murali, his eyes glowing and face radiating a perpetual smile, can be described a freak bowler. The wrist plays such a pronounced role in his bowling that the batsman is left in a trance in trying to detect the flight and the landing of the ball. “I have tremendous respect for the man. He has taken all controversies in his stride and remained a wonderful icon of the game,” raved Sidhu.

Kumble, Warne and Murali can be seen in action in the next edition of the IPL, but Test cricket will miss the two wonderful characters, Warne and Kumble.

Murali carries the art forward and the game awaits the evolution of another spinner worthy of joining their ranks. There is a lone crusader in this trade — Harbhajan Singh, past 300 Test wickets and just 28 years of age.

But as Sidhu and Amre aver, there would be none to replace the likes of Warne, Kumble and Murali. They revelled in the same era with awesome achievements and amazing regard for one another.

If spin has survived the onslaught of batsmen on placid tracks and the rules of the game pitted against the bowlers, the credit goes to this fascinating trio.