Anil Kumble debuts as international commentator

[Lord]

http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/icc-world-t20/news/detail/item278572/ESPN-STAR-Sports-ropes-in-Kumble/ Former India Test captain will join his former teammate Sourav Ganguly behind the microphone. The ace Indian spinner, who retired from international cricket after carving his name on 619 Test wickets in a career spanning 17 years, will join the ESPN STAR Sports commentary panel which also includes Ian Chappell, Ian Bishop, Wasim Akram, Sanjay Manjrekar, Harsha Bhogle and Nasser Hussain. "I have always wanted to contribute to the game of cricket whether on or off the field. My association with ESPN STAR Sports poses an interesting challenge for me as I have never tried serious analysis before," Anil Kumble said. "The T20 format does not leave much of a breathing space for both the player as well as the viewer as the match situation changes really fast. This fast format will surely open up many facets and nuances for the TV expert which I am sure will prove to be an enjoyable experience," he added. The announcement comes close on the heels of the signing of former skipper Ganguly on Wednesday. "Anil is one of the greatest spin bowlers of all time. He has recently hung up his boots but the wealth of experience in handling all the great batsmen of the last two decades will surely come in handy when he is behind the mike," said RC Venkateish, Managing Director of ESPN software India. Aussies and Proteas are main threats Kumble, meanwhile, said that he considered Australia and South Africa as the two most potent sides who will pose a threat to India's title defence in the ICC World T20. "Australia and South Africa among others will also pose a strong challenge to India at the tourney," Kumble said. Kumble feels India needed to be on guard against complacency if they are to defend their title. "T20 is still a new concept, an evolving game, where every player is learning match by match. So anything is possible but surely India will have to guard against any form of complacency and each and every individual will have to contribute," Kumble said. "India has an extremely talented side and they have it in them to retain the tournament but the concept of Twenty20 does not make any team a favourite just because they look strong on paper," he added.

[Don Sharma]

No Sunny and Ravi Shastri:hmmm:

[zubinpepsi]

ravi shahstri is busy cheerleading..

[vvvslaxman]

Akram Mr.obvious "15.2 overs 102 runs 2 wickets. Rohit 50 off 37 balls with a strike rate of... Gambhir 32 or 27 balls iwht a strike rate of .. They have .... runs to win" Watch out for this when Akram does commentary. Just to fill the air he will give elaborate details about scorecard.

[Sachinism]

hmmm I'll be watching on Sky Sports with Bumble on the commentary :yay:

[vvvslaxman]

Dang.. so they have seperate set of commies!! We were tortured by Akram & co. Infact i was annoyed by Harsha as well with comments like "Idea of offering defense to a ball has become alien" referring to Rohit. It was too corny and crappy coming out from Harsha. I miss Bumble :((

[Sachinism]

^^ I'm hoping they will be different lol I haven't had much chance to see the warm up games on tv, so don't know who was , but I saw some of India's highlights and Bhogle and Akram were on it :((

[Ram]

Nice. Finally, we can have people with something called the 'Brain' who are going to commentate. I am still attending rehab after years of listening to numb-heads like Lal, Siva and Raja.

[zubinpepsi]

is bumble commentating, i want this team.. bumble, nasser, slater, mark nicholas, tony jus for the enthu they put in..

[kumble_rocks]

Kumble will be a welcome change for sleep disorder patients..

[Don Sharma]

Bumble,Nass, Coney and Ian Chappell are part of ESS commie team. They could have added Barry Richards to the mix though. Anyway it is way better than LS, Arun Lal and co.

[h4te]

I am watching it on sky now with Bumble :woot: but i would love to hear Kumble & Ganguly commentate (minus the annoying between ball ads) :woot::woot::woot:

[Mr. Wicket]

Kumble's always been very soft spoken but intelligent - one of those people you listen to when he opens his mouth. I'm glad to see he's looking at a commentary stint.

[abhinav]

Harsha's quest for poetry while commentating has made him a very annoying presence in the box. I feel that he's losing it

[punjabi_khota]

Kumble and Ganguly will cure many an insomnia. They are both strong and silent types, totally not made for commentary.

[Mr. Wicket]

They're also intelligent, insightful people who know when to open their mouths. Benaud and Michael Holding are quieter sorts who don't talk all the time like say a Shastri or Bill Lawry, but both are still fantastic commentators and when they do open their mouths, people listen. I expect it'll be far more pleasant listening to these two on the mic than say Danny Morrison or any of the ****witted IPL shills screaming about DLF and Citi, or Arun Lal going on about lizards, birds and vegetarian sausages, or Rameez/Waqar/Fernando/etc even opening their mouths.

[graphic23]

Aw, it'll be great watching Kumble on a commentary team. Looking forward to hearing both Ganguly and Kumble soon. :-)

[Guest Hiten.]

Anil Kumble debuts as international commentator Welcome Jumbo as a commentator B->:yay::two_thumbs_up:.

[cowboysfan]

some incisive comments by jumbo.

[flamy]

Boar. :yawn2: