Decision time for Anil Kumble

Watching great players on the sidelines is one of the more poignant sights in sport. From the BCCI Platinum Jubilee match between India and Pakistan at the Eden Gardens last week, one image stuck. It was of Anil Kumble in the players' gallery. He had an old, discoloured ball, just the sort that's ready to grip and bite, in his hand. He held it in his three spinning fingers and twirled it around in varying degrees.

Fresh from another big harvest in a Test series, you could tell from that image that he was itching to bowl. But he was not going to. India under Sourav Ganguly rarely go in to one-day matches with more than one specialist spinner and on this day, as it has been on many others, Harbhajan Singh was the preferred one.

We shouldn't read too much into television pictures, Kumble had once told me. That was in response to my suggestion that throughout India's last tour of Australia, his eyes seemed to burn with ferocious intensity. Till then, Kumble had been a certified failure in Australia and it seemed with every ball, he was out to avenge both his dismal record and his critics. "I never felt that way," he said, adding, "but, then I haven't seen myself on television."

I remembered that conversation when the following words formed in my mind while watching that image from Kolkata on the television screen: "a picture of desolation." It is difficult to imagine how he felt, but it is impossible not to feel sad watching a great cricketer relegated to the bench.

It can be argued that Kumble has suffered because of the predisposition of his captain towards team formation. Ganguly has always preferred three pace bowlers and he has always believed that, as a sole spinner, Harbhajan Singh gave him the best attacking option. It is not so much a lack of faith in Kumble's abilities but a greater faith in the exciting possibilities that Harbhajan presented that has often determined the composition of the playing XI and a captain ought be granted that. If Rahul Dravid was captain, it is often suggested, or even Sachin Tendulkar, things could have been different. Conjecture is fruitless.

Figures tell a story. Harbhajan has been the better bowler in one-day cricket ever since he re-established himself in the Indian side in 2001, taking more wickets at a better strike-rate and conceding fewer runs. Harbhajan's figures since 2001 read: 78 matches, 98 wickets at 28.80 with a strike-rate of 42.4 and economy-rate of 4.06. In the corresponding period, Kumble's read: 51 matches, 47 wickets at 43.12 with an economy-rate of 4.58 and a strike-rate of 56.3. In 2004, the disparity is even more glaring. Kumble: 13 matches, 8 wickets at 68.87, economy rate of 4.86 and strike-rate of 85. Harbhajan: 9 matches, 12 wickets at 26.83, economy-rate 3.57 and strike-rate 45.

But Kumble hasn't looked poorer only in comparison to Harbhajan but also himself. His career average is 30.69, economy-rate 4.27 and strike-rate 43. Two years ago, these were even more impressive.

He recently told Sanjay Manjrekar that he thought he was bowling better now than he had ever done in his career. That is certainly borne out by his Test figures. His last ten Tests, seven of which were played abroad, and seven of which were against Australia, have yielded 66 wickets. He has become the third-fastest bowler to 400 wickets in the history of Test cricket, helped Indian win three Tests abroad and nearly bowled them to wins in two more.

But while it is ironical that his decline as a one-day performer should coincide with impressive performances in Test cricket, it is not entirely a surprise. Kumble the Test match bowler is no longer solely dependent on accuracy and a potent flipper. He varies his bowling to suit the conditions and the nature of the opposition. On batting pitches, like those in Australia last season, he bowls slower, flights the ball more and bowls a good number of googlies. On pitches that grip and bounce, like the one at Chennai last month, he drops his length and ups his speed.

What he has lost out on, however, is the pinpoint accuracy that used to be the defining quality of his bowling. He used to be impossible to cut or pull. These days, he bowls enough short balls that can be easily put away on either side of the wicket and also strays down the leg side more often. Versatility has perhaps come at the expense of parsimony and while it has made him a better Test bowler, he is clearly a lesser bowler in one-day cricket than before.

Also, the one-day game is unforgiving on specialists. It demands contributions in other areas. Kumble once won India a one-day match with a stirring ninth-wicket partnership with his state-mate and good friend Javagal Srinath. But that was as good as it could get. These days, he is more likely to run himself out in a tight situation than hit a few furious fours. And while he is still fit enough to wheel away 30 overs a day, he is not athletic enough to prevent singles in the circle.

Why must he then submit himself to the indignities of the bench? One-day cricket may not necessarily be a game only for the young, but it does put the older player under the cosh. Kumble is 34. He could conceivably go on to play for three more years and capture a 100 more Test wickets. For this to happen, he will need to conserve himself. Let it be suggested, with utmost respect, that he ought to consider his future in one-day cricket.