BENGALURU: The Bangalore Lit Fest had several eminent and accomplaished speakers, but the loudest cheers were reserved for former cricketer Anil Kumble.
‘Jumbo’, as he is lovingly known, was part of discussion on how India’s T20 World Cup win had changed Indian and world cricket. Other panelists included journalists Rajdeep Sardesai and Gideon Haigh. In front of a packed audience, Kumble demonstrated his acute sense of cricketing aspects, his wit as well as his ablity to play with a straight bat off the field.
Kumble spoke about how the surge in popularity of T20 came when he was at the end of his career, and how he had to adapt to it. “I had to bowl four overs in a match, and at that age it took me minimum four overs to just warm up. We seniors had everything against us, but we realised that it was about putting mind over matter.”
Sardesai expressed his discomfort with the format, terming its popularity the ‘McDonaldisation of Cricket,’ but acknowledged that millenials preferred this format the most. Australian Gideon Haigh revealed that the 2007 World Cup was not broadcast on television in Australia. “It (T20) was regarded as a bit of a joke.”
Sardesai’s praise of batsmen awoke the competitor in Kumble, who quipped, “People tend to forget bowlers. Batsmen are for entertainment but bowlers win you matches.” When Sardesai playfully said questions on Virat Kohli should be directed to Kumble, referring to the recent controversy, ‘Jumbo’ deflected the bouncer with ease, saying, “I can take any questions, Rajdeep.”
