Kumble hopes to come back for South African tour
India's ace leg spinner Anil Kumble, who is on the comeback trail, is to return to international cricket in October
Santhosh S
05-Aug-2001
India's ace leg spinner Anil Kumble, who is on the comeback trail, is
to return to international cricket in October. The architect of many
an Indian win has been out of action for more than nine months now. In
January this year, he underwent a surgery on his right shoulder in
South Africa for the injury he sustained in Sharjah last October.
Indian bowling will look a lot different with Kumble and Harbhajan
Singh bowling from either end. CricInfo caught up with Kumble at the
RSI Ground, Bangalore on Friday, when he was playing for Karnataka
State Cricket Association XI against Andhra Cricket Association XI in
the Coromandel Cement Cup tournament,
Kumble has been training and is happy with the progress he has been
making. After playing a couple of club games, he has gained in
confidence. The match against the Andhra Cricket Association XI is the
first of any serious nature. He came through unscathed after a spell
that fetched him the figures of 17-4-37-1.
Even though these are early days and the domestic first class season
will start only in November, Kumble might well play for KSCA in the
Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai this month.
It has been a major disappointment for Kumble to have been out of
action for such a long time but he is not in a hurry to make a
comeback to the Indian squad. Kumble said that he would miss the Asian
Test Championship and is looking forward to the tour of South Africa.
As for the medical clearance required, he added that there was no need
for any certificate from his surgeon and he would take the final
decision about his return to the side. Kumble is quite positive about
his chances of playing in South Africa in just about two months time.