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In an old school cricketing talk show ‘The Mid Wicket Tales’ hosted by the Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah, legendary Indian spinner Bishan Singh Bedi recalled an incident which showed that even greats of the game have had days they would want to forget.
Bedi was the manager of the Indian team for the India’s tour of England in the 1990 tour. The former Indian captain narrated an incident where Anil Kumble had a tough time before getting up the ranks in Indian Cricket.
The tour was Kumble’s first and he got to make his Test debut at the Old Trafford. Kumble was fielding at deep fine leg and Dev who had established himself already by then was bowling. The legendary all-rounder was just a wicket away from breaking the record of the most Test wickets back then.
Dev bowled a bouncer to Allan Lamb and the ball went to Kumble as a straight forward catch. Kumble dropped that catch and Dev got furious and scolded the young debutant
on the ground.
"It was his first Test match. I was the cricket manager at Old Trafford. Anil dropped the catch and Kapil scolded him on the ground. It was his debut and Kapil I guess had played 100 Tests by then. When I went to the dressing room, I found him crying. That might have strengthened him. Shedding tears at that moment was important. It was crucial that he felt bad at that moment for what emerged later," Bedi recalled.
Kumble may have been low on confidence after the drop catch but he went on to lead the country and become the highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game for India. He turned out to be one of the most successful match-winners the country has ever produced in Test cricket.
