Retired from full-fledged cricket for 18 months now, the 39-year-old showed no signs of rust, signing off from IPL III with four for 16 against the Deccan Chargers to finish as the highest wicket-taker for the Challengers, with 17 sticks from 16 games.
Not for the first time, Kumble took the new ball; again, not for the first time, he rolled over Adam Gilchrist, his opposite number. “I have always thought that for Gilly, it’s the right move to bowl as a spinner, somebody who can take the ball away,” Kumble said by way of explanation for when and how he decides to take the new ball in T20 cricket.
“That’s the reason I try and mix up my googlies to him. I have been fortunate in the past, and I was fortunate today too that although I didn’t land the ball, he got himself out. So that was a bonus!”
Refusing to look too far ahead, Kumble maintained, “It’s too early to talk about the next IPL. I need to sit down with the franchisee and discuss who we are going to retain. I am not really sure about the rules. Maybe I need to understand that, then sit down and work out the right team for us.
“Four foreigners in the eleven is the way forward too. This is the IPL. If you look at this IPL, a lot of Indian boys who have performed exceptionally well, including a couple for us.
Robin (Uthappa) has taken his game one step forward, and his contribution as a ‘keeper has been really good. Also, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Vinay Kumar. The reason Vinay is in the Indian team is not just because of his domestic perf-ormances, but also his IPL performances. I feel four (foreigners) and seven (Indians) is the ideal scenario. For me personally, since we have qualified for the Champions League, it means I have another tou-rnament to look forward to. Come September, I will be ready,” he declared.
On Saturday, the Challengers sprung a surprise by blooding Nayan Doshi, the 31-yeat-old left-arm spinning son of former India tweaker Dilip. Nayan responded with one for 17 from his first four IPL overs.
“He is someone with the experience of playing Twenty20,” Kumble pointed out, referring to the younger man’s county stints. “It was tough for us to get him in early in the competition. Once we got those losses in a row, we were always catching up and could not think of bringing in a newcomer.
“Since the conditions were ideal for another spinner, we went with Nayan, and he showed his quality. He is a very classical left-arm spinner not afraid to toss the ball. He showed that a classical left-arm spinner can still play this form of cricket. I played with him for Surrey in the Twenty20 competition. I knew a bit about what he can deliver, and I am really glad that he did.”
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