Anil Kumble Hails Karnataka's 1995 Ranji Trophy Triumph As One Of The Biggest Moment Of His Career

Anil Kumble, former Indian leg-spinner, recently reminisced about Karnataka’s 1995 Ranji Trophy title win and how it paved gave confidence to a number of cricketers from the southern state to make the transition from domestic cricket to the Indian team back in the 90s and early 2000s.

Karnataka defeated Tamil Nadu in the 1995 Ranji Trophy finals and Kumble, who was the captain of the team, hailed it as the ‘biggest thing’ for him, during a recent interaction with Ravichandran Ashwin on ‘DRS with Ash’

“The 1995 win was obviously the biggest thing for me. Because I was the captain of the team and we beat Tamil Nadu in Chennai. That was the first time when we won the Ranji Trophy, during our times.” Anil Kumble said.

‘Interaction with senior players helped’- Anil Kumble

A number of cricketers from Karnataka went on to represent the national team back in the 90s and early 2000s.

When asked the prime reason behind it, Kumble said that the interaction that he and his generation of cricketers had with the likes of Gundappa Vishwanath, BS Chandrashekhar, EAS Prasanna, Syed Kirmani and Roger Binny, during their initial days, played a huge role in them making a successful transition from domestic cricket to international cricket.

“I think the interactions we have had with the senior group of players in Karnataka, and the passing of generations is very, very unique. The interactions that I had when I first came into the team with GR Viswanath, BS Chandrasekhar, EAS Prasanna, Syed Kirmani, all these guys, while we were practising for Karnataka, would come.” Kumble reckoned.

“Roger Binny was the first captain when I made my debut for Karnataka. So to have all of these senior players with you, and learning from them. And you could see that they genuinely wanted to help you. And they would come forward and tell you, look, this is where you need help. Those little interactions certainly helped.” he added.

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