Anil Kumble announced his retirement yesterday from international cricket. No, but this aint about his cricketing life. This is about Anil Kumble, the humble giant. Rarely would you come across a man, who would step on the sporting field inspite of having a fractured jaw. Him coming out to bowl with a fractured jaw and even taking Brian Lara's wicket will forever remain one of the greatest scenes in the history of cricket. His body might have asked him to quit, yet the mind still hasnt. That became amply clear when he ran back yards to catch a skier from Mitchell Johnson inspite of having taken 11 stitches in his hand. This catch could easily have caused great injury to his already damaged hand. But he didnt worry or may be whenever he wore the India T-shirt, he just had one objective, one aim, one desire: to see India win, at every cost. This act once again reminds us that he was not only a man with great skills, but a man of great determination.
His value to the country is often under-rated, he was not only one of India's finest bowlers, but he was and will forever be one of India's greatest player ever. With more and more of youth mania everyday, we see great aggression, more abuses, more physical contact. This generation might bring us sucess with aggression, but in a way Anil represents true India. An India in which irrespective of our success, we always respected our opponents. An India in which irrespective of ones greatness, one always remained down-to-earth. An India, which even after defeating a hopeless enemy 4 times, forwards its hand of friendship and treats it with equal respect. Perhaps its not just the end of a career, its probably the end of an era.
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