18th March 2010 - Mumbai: Ahead of their much-anticipated clash in this edition of the IPL, leg spin legends Anil Kumble and Shane Warne, captains of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Rajasthan Royals respectively, indulged in a bit of mutual admiration but promised that there would be no such bonhomie on the field when the two teams play each other on Thursday night.
On the sidelines of the launch of Wide Angle, a book of photographs clicked by Kumble during his 20 year of cricketing career that was released by Warne, the duo spoke at length about each other's craft.
"Anil Kumble has a lot of skill. A lot of people have said that you can't bowl leg spin like that (the way Anil Kumble has). What he has shown over 20 years is that there are different ways to skin a cat," Warne said.
Kumble was quick to return the compliment. "I have always said this. I wish I could bowl like him, spin the ball like him," he said of Warne.
"Whenever we played against each other, I would watch every ball he bowled — the way he would set up a batsman. More than watching him bowl leg break, the googly or whatever variations I could sense that he was trying to set up a batsman with. Later when I watched him on television playing against other teams, I would know what he would bowl next," Kumble added.
Warne said the standout feature about Anil Kumble was the size of his heart. "100 percent commitment 100 percent of the time — that's not something you can teach people that comes from the heart," the Rajasthan captain said.
"When you play cricket over a long period of time it's not just your skill that matters, it's your passion, your love of the game, your courage and commitment. There's not too many times when you walk off the field when your arms are not sore, your back, fingers and knees are hurting. But you pick yourself up when you get into a contest," he said of Kumble's longevity in cricket.
Rajasthan, coming off two consecutive losses, go into Thursday's clash without Graeme Smith and Dmitry Mascarenhas. Their skipper, however, indicated that the team had the depth after the arrival of South Africans Morne Morkel, Johan Botha and Michael Lumb.
Warne said there had been some concern over a sore shoulder to Yusuf Pathan, but added that he would play Thursday.
Also present at the occasion was Bangalore wicket-keeper Mark Boucher who said Thursday's game would be big for both teams. "Shane Warne would have rallied his team. They will come hard at us. We want to gain some momentum with another win."
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