Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif heaped praises on legendary spin bowler Anil Kumble after being recently lauded by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for his incredible performances in the fascinating game.
Kumble, who is India’s highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, received a special mention when the ICC shared a video on its official Twitter handle celebrating the achievements of the former Indian skipper during the ongoing Hall of Fame season.
Speaking about the same, Kaif took to Twitter and wrote a heartwarming message for his ex-India teammate. In his tribute, the Prayagraj-born hailed Kumble for his exceptional contributions to Indian cricket. Kaif, who is currently the fielding coach of IPL franchise Delhi Capitals (DC), also recalled scoring his maiden ODI century when Kumble accompanied him.
“@anilkumble1074 hand-held a generation of cricketers & I can vouch for this… I can’t forget his reassuring presence at the non-striker’s end when I got my first ODI hundred,” tweeted Kaif.
“A mentor, a role model, a legend..the career of this @icc Hall of Famer is definitely worth celebrating,” the 40-year-old added.
.@anilkumble1074 hand-held a generation of cricketers & I can vouch for this.. I can't forget his reassuring presence at the non-striker's end when I got my first ODI hundred. A mentor, a role model, a legend..the career of this @icc Hall of Famer is definitely worth celebrating
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) May 22, 2021
A few minutes later, Kumble reacted to Kaif’s heartening message, expressing his gratitude by thanking his former teammate.
Thanks Kaifi 🙏🏽
— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) May 22, 2021
In the video shared by ICC, many former players were seen appreciating Kumble for being a wonderful bowler. Former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara eulogized the leg-spinner, saying he gave him ‘sleepless nights’. Sanga further admitted that it wasn’t easy to score runs against the Karnataka maestro as being a tall guy, he used to ball fast with ultimate accuracy.
“Kumble has given me a few sleepless nights as a batsman. He was not your orthodox leg-spinner. This big, tall, gangly bowler running in and bowling with very high arm action. Bowling fast, bowling straight and accurately. It was not at all easy to get him away for runs. A lot of bounce… he had great pace on the ball, and if there was any rough on a length, the batsman had very little chance of getting away,” said Sangakkara.
