New Delhi:The numbers are heavily in favour of Mahendra Singh Dhoni but former India batsman Gautam Gambhir says spin legend Anil Kumble was the best India captain he has ever played under.
Gambhir has high regards for Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly as India skippers, but believes Kumble would have been phenomenal as captain had he led the national team for a longer period. “From the records point of view it obviously has to be MS Dhoni. He has won every ICC trophy possible. He has done fabulously well, he has handled the pressure for a very long time. Sourav (Ganguly) has also done well.
“But one person I would definitely, would have liked to captain India for a long time should have been Anil Kumble. I played 6 Test matches under him and had he captained India for a long time would have broken many records,” Gambhir said on Star Sports ‘Cricket Connected’ show on the occasion of IPL’s 12th anniversary. “From the records point of view Dhoni is right up there but for me the best captain I played under is Anil Kumble,” Gambhit, who is now a BJP MP, added. Kumble was appointed as India captain after Rahul Dravid in 2007 and led the side in 14 Tests — winning three, losing six and drawing five. But his stint as captain lasted little less than a year as he retired in November 2008, following which Dhoni was appointed as the skipper in all three formats. Gambhir also picked Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma as the all-time great IPL captain. “I think it’s Rohit Sharma . He has won the IPL four times and his captaincy is all about winning trophies,” he said. “He will end up being the most successful IPL captains of all-time as well, probably he will finish with 6 or 7 titles under his belt.” Anil Kumble,who was a right-arm leg spin bowler, took 619 wickets in Test cricket and remains the third-highest wicket taker of all time , behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. In 1999 while playing against Pakistan, Kumble dismissed all ten batsmen in a Test match innings. (PTI)
