Captain Anil Kumble, one of the greatest spinners to have played the game, today announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing the curtains down rather abruptly on India's most successful Test bowler ever.
Kumble announced the decision after the drawn third Test against Australia and said it was fitting to have called it a day at the Ferozeshah Kotla Ground, where he took 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan in 1999.
The surprise announcement means that Kumble will not be playing the fourth and final Test in Nagpur, where India will have a new Test captain with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the current vice-captain, expected to be handed the reins.
The 38-year-old leg spinner, who has captured 619 scalps in 132 Tests to be third in the list of highest wicket-takers after Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, injured his little finger during the course of the third Test and was doubtful for the last Test in Nagpur.
"Delhi has been special for me and I thought it fitting to finish my career here," he said amid loud applause from the Kotla crowd.
Replying to critics' call of his retirement, Kumble had said that he would decide when to quit.
He said long years of international cricket has taken a toll and the injury on the little finger of his left hand in the third Test helped him take the decision.
"It was a very tough decision particularly after playing competitive cricket for the last 18 years. But the body gave the decision. This injury probably helped me to take the decision," he said.
