New Delhi: India Test skipper Anil Kumble Sunday took the cricketing fraternity by surprise, announcing his retirement from
international cricket midway through the series against Australia. The ongoing third Test at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium here will be Kumble's last outing and he would not play in the fourth and final Test at Nagpur.
The giant screens at the stadium flashed a one-liner saying: 'Anil Kumble has decided to retire after this match and will not travel to Nagpur for the final Test'.Kumble, who has been going through a form slump missed the second Test at Mohali due to a shoulder injury, bowled Saturday with his injured left-hand heavily bandaged.
The 38-year-old is Test cricket's third-highest Test wicket taker with 619 wickets, trailing only Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia's retired Shane Warne.
'It was a very tough decision, especially when you have performed for 18 years and been so competitive,' he said at the presentation ceremony after the match had ended in a draw. 'But the body helped me make the decision. This injury also helped.'
Kumble had suffered a deep cut in his left little finger which needed 11 stitches during the match.
'I had already decided to leave after this series, but decided once I realised I won't be 100 percent for Nagpur (fourth Test).'
The spin bowler has been the team's bowling lynchpin for almost two decades, and the architect of India's dominance on slow home pitches, relying more on subtle variations than sharp turn. He has also taken 337 wickets from 271 One-Day Internationals and has already quit the shorter form of the game.
Kumble, who has played 132 Tests, had been facing mounting questions over his future and missed the second Test against the Aussies in Mohali due to a shoulder injury.
Kumble's retirement comes after former skipper Sourav Ganguly announced the current Australia Test series would be his last.
The team's senior cricketers have come under increasing pressure with domestic media engaged in frenzied debate whether they should step aside to help blood younger players.
The fourth and final Test starts in Nagpur on November 6.
Anil is one of only two bowlers in the history of cricket to have taken all 10 wickets in a Test innings, the other being Jim Laker of England. Kumble achieved the feat against Pakistan in February 1999.
He was appointed the captain of the Indian Test cricket team on 8 November 2007. On 6 October 2004, Kumble became only the third spinner in the history of Test cricket (after Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan) and the second Indian bowler (after Kapil Dev) to capture 400 Test wickets.
On 10 December 2004, Kumble became India's highest wicket taker when he trapped Mohammad Rafique of Bangladesh to surpass Kapil Dev's haul of 434 wickets. On 11 March 2006, he took his 500th Test wicket.
On June 11 2006, Kumble passed Courtney Walsh on 520 Test wickets to take 4th place. After returning to India from the 2007 Cricket World Cup, he announced his retirement from ODI Cricket on 30 March 2007.
On 17 January 2008, in the third Test against Australia at WACA, Perth, Anil Kumble became the first Indian bowler and the third in the world to reach the milestone of 600 Test wickets. Kumble achieved the record just after the tea break when he had Andrew Symonds caught by Rahul Dravid at first slip.