NEW DELHI: Wishes continued to pour in for legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble, who is celebrating his 53rd birthday on Tuesday.
Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to X (formerly Twitter) to wish happy birthday to a player who he said “truly championed the spirit of the game”.
“I have known Anil for a long time, and I am so fortunate that we went on to play together for so many years for India. A man who truly championed the spirit of the game and had the grit to perform no matter what. Happy birthday, my friend,” tweeted Sachin.
https://twitter.com/sachin_rt/status/1714223610183962865
India’s World Cup-winning all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also wished Kumble via a story on Instagram.
Former Indian middle-order batter Suresh Raina said that Kumble’s “spin magic” continues to inspire generations of cricketers.
“Happy Birthday to the legendary @anilkumble1074! Your spin magic continues to inspire generations of cricketers. Wishing you a day filled with joy and a year ahead full of success,” tweeted Raina.
https://twitter.com/ImRaina/status/1714147220952617172
Indian middle-order veteran Cheteshwar Pujara also tweeted, “Happy birthday, @anilkumble1074! Wishing you a year filled with joy and happiness.”
https://twitter.com/cheteshwar1/status/1714160847654891537
Kumble finished his cricket career with 619 Test wickets and 337 ODI wickets. His tally of 619 Test wickets is the most by an Indian bowler. He is also India’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs and international cricket as a whole.
With 2,506 runs in 132 Tests at an average of 17.77, one century and five fifties, he was also a handy batter in Tests. The spinner also took 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan in 1999 and as a result, he became only the second cricketer in history after Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match.
Kumble also coached the Indian cricket team for a brief period of time (2016-2017). Under him, India won a Test series against the West Indies, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia. In 2015, he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. (ANI)