I must say that I was sad to hear India’s cricket captain announce his retirement from International cricket last Sunday. For those of us who can remember Anil Kumble as a young bespectacled university student first playing for India in the early nineties, the announcement marked the end of an era.

It had been expected, of course, for some time - but when he announced at the end of the third India-Australia Test match at the Feroze Shah stadium in Delhi that he was retiring from Test cricket, it allowed him to say Farewell to Cricket on his own terms, while he was still at the top of his game.

At the time of his retirement Kumble was not only captain of India’s national team but also the most successful bowler in India’s cricket history – having taken the most number of wickets (619 and 337 respectively) for India in both Test and One Day cricket. One of only three bowlers to have taken more than 600 Test wickets (the others being our Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia’s Shane Warne), Kumble made his test debut for India against England on 25 April 1990 and over the past 18 years developed into one of the most successful spin bowlers in the history of Test cricket. He is one of only two bowlers (the other being Jim Laker of England) to have taken all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match - a feat he accomplished against Pakistan in February 1999.

Born on 17 October 1970 in Bangalore in India’s Karnataka state, Kumble was always a studious type - and has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rashtreeya College of Engineering. A right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman, he played a total of 132 Test matches and 271 One Day Internationals for India. With his quiet demeanour, he has acquired a reputation for modesty and quiet confidence - the epitome of a gentleman playing a gentleman’s game.

At the age of 38 years, he has finally decided to call it a day. And it is not only for his wicket taking that fans will remember him. Memories remain of the courageous way he walked out of the dressing room in Antigua in 2002 with his jaw bandaged, after it had been fractured while he was batting - and then proceeded to bowl a stirring spell during which he picked up Brian Lara’s wicket. Fans will also remember what to him must have been the achievement of his ultimate ambition - a test century against England at the Oval in August 2007. Those who have heard of Australian captain Bill Woodfull’s dignified yet damning comment on England’s Bodyline tactics during the 1932-33 Test series "There are two teams out there. One is playing cricket and the other is not." will recall Kumble’s subtle yet similarly telling remark "Only one team was playing in the spirit of the game." which he made at a press conference after the Test match in January this year which Australia won after some controversial umpiring decisions and several instances of Australian batsmen standing their ground when obviously out.

Kumble was not merely a great bowler - he was a great inspiration, a quiet achiever not given to raucous and flamboyant exhibitions on the field. He inspired a generation of young cricketers and his own team mates by his example and efforts.

In 1995 he won an Arjuna Award - given by the Government of India to recognise outstanding achievement in national sports. In 2005 he was awarded the Padma Shri - an award given by the Government of India to Indian citizens to recognize distinguished contributions in various spheres. Less than a month after his 37th birthday, he received the ultimate honour when he was named just before the home series against Pakistan as India’s Test captain, a role he successfully fulfilled for over a year.