Can't think of Indian cricket without Tendulkar: Kumble
Tendulkar has indicated that he will reassess his cricketing future in the coming months but former India captain Anil Kumble wants him to continue and says he cannot think of Indian cricket without the iconic batsman. "I can't think of Indian cricket without Tendulkar and I want him to continue," Kumble said when asked about Tendulkar.
"It's a privilege to have shared the Indian team dressing room for 13 years with Tendulkar. Eventually, he will have to take the call (for retirement). But this question of when to retire should be best left to him only," added Kumble after launching his sports academy TENVIC at a city school.
Kumble said it is very tough for a sportsperson to make a call on his retirement after playing a sport for a long time.
"For any sportsperson it is a tough decision and it is for the individual to take the call. Tendulkar will also eventually have to take the call," said the former leg-spinner.
India's most successful spinner Kumble disagreed when asked if spin bowling is on the wane.
"It's not like that and spin is doing well. You have Graeme Swann of England and he is a fantastic bowler. There is Saeed Ajmal (of Pakistan) and we have R Ashwin who has matured a lot in the matches he has played so far for the country," he said.
"Then you cannot discount Harbhajan Singh who has taken more than 400 Test wickets and he is 32 only and some years to go on playing. So, it's good future in spin department in the India," he added.
Kumble, who is the founder of TENVIC Sports Academy which he set up in Bangalore in 2010, said the country needs to nurture a sports culture at the grass-root level.
"We need to make sports a way of life. The country needs to nurture a sports culture and we have to do it from the grass-root level starting from the schools. That's why I have decided to launch an academy here at the Ryan International School (Rohini)," he said.
Kumble, who is currently the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and also chairman of BCCI Technical Committee, said having a sports background has helped him in tackling administrative issues.
"I think I am being able to tackle administrative issues better because of my sports background. Sports teaches you how to deal with the highs and lows of life. Moreover, I am happy that I am being able to give back to the game I have been so passionate about and to the society in general," he added.
Kumble said a sportsman has to face highs and lows in his career, citing his own experience as an example. Kumble recollected the famous Test against Pakistan in 1999 in Delhi when he was the hero of India's win with a 10-wicket haul and subsequent struggle in the next match.
"Delhi has been special to me. I took 10 wickets against Pakistan in a Test at Ferozeshah Kotla here but next match in Kolkata I struggled and took just one wicket and that was of Shoaib Akhtar who was number 10 batsman.
"So, a sportsman has to face ups and down in his career but it teaches the person to be a better individual and a better citizen. I also don't buy the notion that sports and study don't go together. I want to say that it's a myth as I have pursued my engineering study along with my passion in cricket," he said.
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