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Legendary meeting: Anil Kumble has posted a praising tribute for Sri Lanka legend Aravinda de Silva, reminiscing about their cricketing days.
Anil Kumble (R) and Aravinda se Silva. (PC: X/@anilkumble1074)
Former India captain Anil Kumble met Sri Lankan legend Aravinda de Silva on Wednesday and shared his appreciation for him, saying he had some ‘great moments trying to outwit’ him during their playing days.
Kumble played 132 Tests and 271 ODIs for India between 1990 and 2007, while de Silva, a national great and World Cup winner, featured in 93 Tests and 308 ODIs between 1984 and 2003. Kumble took 956 international wickets in his career while de Silva scored over 15,000 international runs.
“Always nice to catch up with this legend. Had some great moments trying to outwit him on the cricket field. Aravinda de Silva, what a player!” Kumble wrote on X.
Always nice to catch up with this legend. Had some great moments trying to outwit him on the cricket field. Aravinda de Silva, what a player! pic.twitter.com/wUqRaA2Ztl— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) February 5, 2025
From the time ball-by-ball records started to be collected, there’s a mention of them coming against each other twice in ODIs where de Silva managed seven runs against him and lost his wicket in one of those matches.
Team management didn’t consistently select Ashwin: Anil Kumble
Since retirement, Kumble dabbled in coaching for a while and now works as a part-time pundit while handling a few businesses. Recently, he spoke about the only spinner who came close to his wickets record, Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“Ravichandran Ashwin is a matchwinner. He is a thorough professional who has excelled throughout his career. Every time you watch him bowl, you can see that he wants to get better and is trying to outwit the batter in any circumstance. You want to see that in any cricketer, and he’s done that for 14–15 years,” wrote Kumble in his piece for Sportstar.
“Unfortunately, the team management did not consistently select Ashwin to play in England, South Africa, and Australia, which has always perplexed me. With Ravindra Jadeja bowling in tandem, India could have had these two in every match. Ashwin has consistently picked wickets on every surface he has played on. So to typecast him as a spinner, mostly in subcontinent conditions, is not fair,” he added.
Ashwin will be in action for the Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming IPL 2025.
