Game changers: Anil Kumble and Anju Bobby George speak at a literature festival
Ace spinner Anil Kumble and international athlete Anju Bobby George are towering statures in the haloed arena of Indian sports. Kumble is a Karnataka and national legend; beyond his famous 10-wicket knock, his longevity in Indian cricket makes him a stalwart in the game. George, who has represented the nation on an international stage, is someone who chose to rise beyond her setbacks into global acclaim. The two legends shared a stage at the Alliance Literary Festival on Friday, shedding light on their journeys and the oscillations along the way.
For a player like Kumble, it is easy to look back and see him occupy a permanent position in the Indian team. To him, it all goes back to his teenage. “There have been many defining moments: making it to the Karnataka U-15 team would be one. That meant that I had an opportunity to go and showcase on behalf of the state. From there on I was fortunate enough to move into the [main] state team; all of that happened in one year, 1989,” he says.
George’s journey was, indubitably, steeper. George, whose academy is honing young talents from rurality, nevertheless, has few qualms. She looks back on her journey with radiant pride, reminiscing, “I was an international athlete; unfortunately, at the age of 18, I suffered a bad injury in my take-off leg. The doctors told me that it was the end of my career. Just before the world championship in Paris, the doctors diagnosed me with a single kidney and declared me unfit for competition. I was asked to go back to my country.” For a sportsperson as resilient as her, this was far from discouragement; it was fuel to the fire. Undaunted, she reminisces that this moment was when ‘I firmly decided to show the world my talent’.
Both George and Kumble, being sports veterans, know keenly the psychological aspect of the job; Kumble, for example, talks of ‘rhythm’, not pure physicality as being the key determinant on the big stage. A cricket player, his views on success slightly differ from George’s. “In a team sport, you’re competing not with your colleagues, but yourself; day in, day out. The moment you start giving too much importance to selection or failure, things go wrong. Every day, you prepare as if you’re playing a match.”
Both ended their session to rapturous applause. After the honours concluded, Kumble, who formerly captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru unveiled the new jersey of the franchise for this season. Alluding to the T-20 format, he shared a perspective on how ‘the game has changed’, and become ‘fast-forward’, joking that 250 runs was once a good ODI score, which gets chased down in 20 overs these days. Still a lover of old-school cricket, Kumble believes that the test format is the main test of ‘endurance and character’.