Gilly changed the way one looked at keepers

Adam Gilchrist's retirement has got many emotional, some relieved, and plenty more appreciating just what the explosive wicketkeeper-batsman brought to the game. Anil Kumble, who has played against Gilchrist on numerous occasions, and who shares a mutual friendship with him, writes in the Hindustan Times that he was a different kind of opposition played and that it all boiled down to the fact that Gilchrist was a nice man, humble, straightforward, quite down to earth.

He also came across as someone who cared and made that extra effort to show it. I remember getting a surprise call from Gilly when I crossed 500 Test wickets. We weren’t playing after that and I was home when I got this call and the voice announced, ‘this is Adam Gilchrist’.

Australia were touring Bangladesh at the time and he told me that he had been trying to get in touch with me for the last 10 days and that it had been really tough getting through from there. It was really nice of him, but he is that kind of guy.

Meanwhile, Sharda Ugra, who has covered cricket for years, acutely observes Kumble himself, noting a calm demeanor and pointing out how a scientific temper has been of more use than tempers of other kinds.

Over 18 years, he has only ever made news on the field and, on his day, he is a looming, fearsome adversary. But to an India punch-drunk on shortterm heroes, usually younger and younger batsmen in increasingly brief forms of the game, Kumble has virtually been invisible.

Read on in India Today.