And so he went with sagged and torn but very proud Indian cap in his hand ...

And so Anil Kumble, as per character, quietly turned in his badge and walked away from the Indian cricket stage, turning off yet another of the brightest lights of India’s greatest cricketing generation. As the history books will one day say, the Dhoni era was to begin or is it was not to be. Always something is left on the table. Cricket is like that, not exactly cruel but not sentimental either.

But now that he is gone and we can no longer take him as a “given”, maybe we will understand how important his grating accuracy and his relentlessness was to India’s performances. In the Delhi Test, when Anil was way below par, I think we already got a glimpse of the future—-that a Laxman double century or a sublime innings from Sachin count for little unless there is good old Jumbo to hammer in the nails on the coffin cover.

He will always be remembered for more than all those wickets, runs and matches won, he is a true gentleman and a warrior who is worth having as a role model for any youngster who aspire to play any game in India. Such was a stature of the man, not even the “GREAT BETTING GATE” which absolved some of the biggest names in Indian Cricket could touch him or even make a passing remark to him (people like Kapil had to cry on TV, Gavaskar’s locker room was opened, Azhar went out, Jadeja went out, some whispers were heard about some of the other great names). This single piece of evidence can get him role of “AMBASSODOR” for INDIA in any country he wishes to serve (not to forget the Sydney Fiasco earlier this year).

After playing this game competitively I know for sure, this is not a game for romantics, there are no happy endings in here, and it’s the biggest levelers one can hope for. For the good part of late 20th century and early part of 21st century, we have grown up with these 5 stalwarts of Indian cricket (perhaps add Vishwanathan Anand, Dhanraj Pillay, Baichung Bhutia and Leander Paes to the list). Have found joy in their success; have cried with them when they said “sorry”. Trains have stopped, schools and colleges have declared holiday, company board rooms have frozen when they were plying their trade for the badge they adored and we loved every bit of it. As one star after the other is turning off the lights on their illustrious career, I wonder will I be the same dedicated Cricket Fan ever after.

I can’t think of an Indian Team without Sachin and Anil for rest of my life. I think the future team sheets will be mere words put together for the sake of it. They will not carry any weight or scare to oppositions in the near future. We can forgive Dhoni to make mistake by putting Anil’s name in the team sheet next time when he pencils his 11, for all the captains for last 19 years its been a practice to put this quintessential team man’s name before any other names.
Nobody thought it would be so soon, so sudden; his exit, if nothing, signals the end of samurais from the world of cricket. Just like the fabled Japanese warriors, Anil too believed in total loyalty, putting his life on line each time he turned out for his country. He fought with the last ball too, for the last wicket, often surpassing himself when the odds were against him or the team.

It is said that people recognize the worth of their teeth after they are gone.

And so he went, leaving a Jumbo sized vacuum in our cricket and a sudden, surprising lump in our throats.