Anil Kumble has given me a few sleepless nights as a batsman: Kumar Sangakkara

India’s decorated leg-spinner Anil Kumble is arguably one of the best spinners to have played the gentlemen’s game. Kumble remains third on the list of all-time top wicket-takers in Test matches, behind only Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia’s Shane Warne. On May 19, the International Cricket Council (ICC) lauded Anil for his exemplary performance in the international circuit. 

The 50-year-old was honored by ICC as the cricketing body inducted him into the ICC’s Hall of Fame. ICC also released a video on their official Twitter handle where Kumble’s former teammates including the likes of Stephen Fleming, Wasim Akram, and Kumar Sangakkara lauded the leg-spinner for his remarkable career along with talking about his impact on the game.

The celebrated video commenced with former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara hailing Kumble as an absolute champion. Kumar also made a confession saying that the Indian veteran gave him sleepless nights as it was tough to score against the leg-spinner.

“Kumble has given me a few sleepless nights as a batsman. He was not your orthodox leg-spinner. This big, tall gangly bowler running in and bowling with very high arm action,” Sangakkara said in a video shared by the ICC. 

“Bowling fast, bowling straight and accurately. It was not at all easy to get him away for runs. A lot of bounce… he had great pace on the ball and if there was any rough on a length, the batsman had very little chance of getting away. Lovely guy, very intense cricketer but an absolute champion for India and world cricket,” he added.

Anil Kumble was a very difficult bowler, unlike any other leg-spinner: Wasim Akram

Furthermore, the video showcased Sri Lanka’s veteran Mahela Jayawardene heaping praises on the Indian legend saying that Kumble knew exactly about his strengths and kept the batters on their toes. 

“Knew exactly what his strengths were. Didn’t go away from that and just kept asking questions from the batsman. If you were a batsman facing Anil, you knew that he always had a plan for you,” Jayawardene said.

Pakistan’s pace bowler Wasim Akram also labeled Anil as a very difficult bowler who was different from any other leg-spinner. 

“I remember he got 10 wickets against us, in India in Delhi in an innings. I was the 10th wicket, I still remember like it was yesterday. A very difficult bowler, unlike any other leg-spinner,” said the former Pakistan captain.

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