Cricketer turned politician Gautam Gambhir has said that Anil Kumble was the best captain for him during his cricketing career.
Gambhir who made his international debut in 2003 and retired in the year 2018 has played under various captains.
Though he acknowledged the achievements of other captains he played under like Sourav Ganguly and Dhoni, he still thinks that Anil Kumble is the best.
He also firmly believes that if the spinner had led India for more period he would have broken all the captaincy records.
Gambhir agrees Dhoni is at the top, records wise, but feels Kumble is the best for him.
Gambhir said speaking on Star Sports’ Cricket Connected, “Yes MS Dhoni in records point of view, right up there but yes, for me the best captain I’ve played under is Anil Kumble.”
Gambhir also praised former captain and present BCCI president Sourav Ganguly but wished Kumble lasted longer as captain. He recalled that he probably played six Tests under Kumble’s captaincy.
“Sourav has done really well. One captain that I would have definitely wanted to captain India for a long time is Anil Kumble. I played six Test matches under him probably; he didn’t captain India for that long. If he had he captained India for a long time, he would have broken a lot of records,” he added.
Kumble took over as the captain of the Indian team after Rahul Dravid stepped down in 2007. Kumble led the team in 14 Tests winning 3 Tests losing 6 Tests and drawing 5 Tests.
When Kumble was leading India in Tests, Dhoni was the captain of the team for ODIs and T20s. Later Dhoni replaced Kumble as the captain for Tests also.
Kumble who took 619 Tests wickets and 337 wickets in One-Days in his career is the highest wicket-taker for India in both Tests and ODIs. The leg-spinner retired in 2008.
