BCCI Secretary hails Kumble

Chennai, Nov 2 (UNI) Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) Secretary N Srinivasan today hailed ''jumbo'' Anil Kumble as a ''giant'' and one of the ''greatest cricketers India had produced.'' Asked about the ace leggie announcing his retirement from the Test cricket, he said ''India will miss him.'' ''He is one of the greatest cricketers India had produced. He is a giant,'' Srinivasan said.

''Anil also proved that he is a great leader. India will miss him,'' he added.

With 619 wickets in 132 tests, the third highest in Test history after Shane Warne and Muthiah Muralitharan, the ace leggie has the unique record of being the only Indian to bag all the 10 wickets in an innings, when he claimed 10 for 74 against Pakistan in 1999 at the very ground where he announced his decision to hang up his boots.

He has scored nearly 3,500 runs in both forms of game with his only century knock of 110 coming against the England.

No bowler in history has won India more Test matches than Kumble, whose prodigious capacity to bear pain was proved in Antigua in 2002 when he bandaged his fractured jaw to deliver a stirring spell and got rid of Brian Lara.

He was part of India's memorable wins in Headingley, Adelaide, Multan and Kingston.

In a chequered career spanning 18 years, the 38-year-old spinner, became the first spinner to to take 300 Test wickets when he achieved the feat at his home turf in Bangalore in December 2001.

A year later, almost to the day, he became the first to do so in one-dayers.

In August 2007 at the Oval he went past Glenn McGrath's haul of 563 wickets and in January this year he broke the 600 barrier.

The 1996 Wisden Cricketer of the year awardee, got the ultimate honour - a dream of every cricketer - to lead the Indian team and went on to win the home series against Pakistan last year, the first home triumph against Pakistan in 27 years, before playing a leading role in holding the side together during the controversial series Down Under.

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