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An ode to the smiling assassin


I love my team… Good or bad, better or worse, they are the people who represent India’s passion. May be its wrong to treat sport as anything but sport. But this is India, and its cricket, and hence I can get away with calling it anything. But “IT’S JUST A SPORT!!!”

After the disappointing exit, and horrendous out burst from the fans… the hue and cry being as usual humiliating… I wonder why these people ever want to play for us… but I would like to spare a thought for my fellow country men, and reaffirm the thought that not all are frenzy fanatics of the game, there are a few with sane mind, warm heart, and a cool head who are willing to shoulder your anguish and disappointment… and still have the guts to smile and accept the defeat in the hands of a team that out-classed us on that day… and wish the best for you… Till another day, “Well played Lanka…”

Now these are not the best of times for Indian cricketers, and certainly not the time to celebrate the exit of the legend of Indian Cricket, the king of Indian Spin, the smiling assassin “Anil Kumble”…, but I would like to do just that… because no defeat is worth undermining the absence of Anil in the Indian Cricket team, though he was forced to retire much earlier… a proven match winner left from the team for the likes of amateurs… and the best part is that he accepted it with a smile, swallowed the anger, waited for the opportunity… and delivered…

Anil Kumble… a SOLDIER, a fighter… untiring in his effort, ruthless in precision, a wily fox in terms of plotting the batsman’s dismissal… there are many a times when watching the match that I have seen his breath taking googlies… seen the plot of a master-plotter for a batsman… left gaping at deliveries and could only be happy that he is playing for India and not against… I could feel the tension in the nerves, waiting to jump from the cushion every single ball anticipating the wicket… I cannot forget his mesmerizing ten wicket haul against Pakistan, nor can any Indian, nor can any cricket lover… I cannot forget his batting adventure with Srinath to win the titan cup final against South Africa,… and these cannot even begin to say how effective a player he is…

Ball after ball, he comes at you with the ferocity and intensity of a lion, discreetly and tidily aggressive, he comes up with a performance of infallible majesty and transcendental brilliance and you never know when you are out… and you can only be stunned by that lethal delivery and accept that this is humanly possible!!!!!!!!!! An under-rated cricketer, a loner in a team game, I can only applaud your performance and contribution to this game… any words of appreciation cannot match the magnanimity of your presence in cricket. Be it taking the back lash of fans and critics, be it warming the bench or be it paving way for your students, be it swallowing the pain of being dropped from important matches, you accepted it with a smile… SMILING ASSASSIN… selfless, lethal, intense, committed being your synonyms…

I like to high light a node in his career… which to me is the BEST…
After being dropped from the first test in Port Of Spain despite being fit, he had a point to prove. And when he was picked for the final test in St Johns, (Antigua in 2002 against West-Indies) before he had a chance at redemption, he had a broken jaw, thanks to a bouncer from Merv Dillon. However, on the third day, when the match was headed for a dull draw… one would expect him to relax, but not Anil.. he could not eat, he could not talk, he could not drink.. but he could bowl… and he did just that, he came up with a performance that can only be described as mesmerizing on a wicket where bowlers had no chance absolutely… He bowled 14 best overs in his life, scalping Brian Lara… as LBW… and going at others with a methodical precision long before giving up the fight… and left the field for a standing ovation … and rightly so… and now he plans to end his ODI career... after India’s debacle in Port Of Spain, 2007…

Though the exit is hurting, it fits the debacle of the team, and the sorry ending though can only be described by life not being a fairy tale. It’s a wonder that Kumble and great have not come in a sentence too often, but this lone fighter of Indian bowling after Srinath (another maestro) retired does not expect recognition, rather goes about his job with a perfection that can only be quotidian… Hopefully this uncomplicated performer, shall paint his canvas of test cricket as Da Vinci used his brush… and shall leave the test cricket with the foot prints of a rare genius...


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