On a turning track, Kumble can be pretty unplayable as he mixes his bag of tricks to bamboozle the batsman.
Kumble has never been a big spinner of the ball but his accuracy and his enormous variety make him a difficult bowler to handle.
Kumble came into the side as a relatively unknown 19-year-old on the tour of England in 1990, was promptly forgotten for a couple of years and was back in the team on the basis of an outstanding Irani Trophy performance in 1992-93.
Kumble achieved this against Pakistan in the second Test played in New Delhi, India between 4 February and 8 February1999, although by failing to dismiss Pakistani quick Waqar Younis in either innings, he missed out on the achievement of dismissing all 11 batsmen in a Test match.
Kumble has largely evaded the general public's eye throughout his career, but his work for the Indian cricket team is invaluable.
He is unfailingly economical and in the 1995 English county season became the first bowler in 5 years to capture more than 100 wickets.
A useful lower-order batsmen, with first-class centuries to his credit, Kumble has often done a sterling job holding up the sagging tail for India.
Suffering from being over-bowled, Kumble recieved a well deserved rest from the national side in 1997, missing the tour of Sri Lanka and the Sahara Cup but was recalled to the national side to face Sri Lanka.
For most of his career Kumble struggled to make an impact outside India, but he turned that around magnificently in Australia in 2003-04, winkling out an incredible 24 wickets in three Test matches.
Kumble's batting average in Tests makes him something of a bowling allrounder, though in the one-day game his nervy running between the wickets has negated hindered him.
Superstardom was to elude the low-profile Kumble throughout his career, but his deeds speak for themselves.
Leg-spinnerAnilKumble's father K N Krishnaswamy passed away at a hospital in Bangalore on Monday night after a brief illness.
Krishnaswamy was 68 and is survived by his wife and two sons.
"Kumble has informed the board of his unavailability due to the sudden demise of his father K N Krishnaswamy," honorary secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, S K Nair said.
Like the great tall wristspinners Bill O'Reilly and his own idol BS Chandrasekhar, Kumble trades the legspinner's proverbial yo-yo for a spear, as the ball hacks through the air rather than hanging in it and comes off the pitch with a kick rather than a kink.
Trained as a mechanical engineer, Anil discovered early the virtues of precision and accuracy, which he has put to telling effect on the field.
Never termed a classical leg-spinner (primarily because he is not a huge turner of the ball) in the real sense of the word, Anil has proved in his 15 long years in international cricket, that his style was equally effective.
The mid-nineties saw the emergence of AnilKumble as a mature strike bowler.
Then, he had more success in the West Indies in 2006, taking 23 wickets in four Tests, including a match haul of 7 for 110 in the last Test in Jamaica which helped India achieve their first series win there in 35 years.
AnilKumble — the old warhorse, the new Test captain (21st Nov, 2007)
Kumble will be under pressure in Australia: Ponting (20th Nov, 2007)
AnilKumble has ideal setting to step up as India captain
AnilKumble cannot have wished for a better place than the Feroz Kotla ground in Delhi to captain India for the first time in a Test, apart from, perhaps, his home town of Bangalore.
That the pitch is expected to turn was made clear by Kumble’s prediction last night that Harbhajan Singh, the off spinner, would be included after a 17-month absence from Testcricket.
Beowulf tells us quite a lot about 21st century anxieties, but it is also rip-roaring fun
An unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 68 between Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Sami took the gloss off AnilKumble’s first day as India captain after he appeared to have taken control of the first Test against Pakistan in Delhi.
Then Misbah, who had never reached fifty in his seven previous Tests, dug in for more than four hours to make 71 off 204 balls and Sami survived 77 balls in scoring 20 as Pakistan recovered to 210 for eight.
