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One of the finest leg-spinners to have played the game, Anil Kumble, celebrates his 54th birthday on October 17, 2024. Kumble is among the best cricketers India has ever produced and established himself as a true match-winner for the country.
He ended his career among the top wicket-takers in Test cricket with 619 scalps and is also fondly remembered for his historic feat of picking up all ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan.
Born in Karnataka, Anil Kumble also represented his Bengaluru in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL). He was picked to play for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) during the inaugural edition of the league back in 2008.
Between 2008 and 2010, Anil Kumble played three IPL seasons, all for RCB. He played a total of 42 games and picked up 45 wickets. In IPL 2008, he played only ten games and managed to grab seven wickets with best figures of 3/14.
Anil Kumble did not start for RCB right away and had to wait before finally making his debut in their third match of the season, which came against the Rajasthan Royals on April 26, 2008.
On that note, here is a look at RCB's playing XI from Anil Kumble's debut for the franchise and where those players are now.
Openers - Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Rahul Dravid (C)
West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul and then RCB skipper Rahul Dravid opened for the side in that game.
Both openers failed to make significant contributions with the bat. Chanderpaul played nine balls and managed to score just two runs in that match. Rahul Dravid had a disastrous outing as he was dismissed for a first-ball duck.
Chanderpaul announced his retirement in 2016 and currently serves as the head coach of the USA senior women's and the USA Under-19 women's teams.
Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid recently ended his tenure as the head coach of the Indian men's team after guiding them to victory in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. He has been appointed as head coach of the Rajasthan Royals for the IPL 2025 season.
Middle Order - Ross Taylor, Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli, Mark Boucher (wk), and Sunil Joshi
Barring Ross Taylor, none of the middle-order batters could fire in that contest against Rajasthan. Ross Taylor played a lone hand, smashing a 20-ball 44, missing out on a half-century.
Jacques Kallis (11) and Virat Kohli (13) made it to double figures while Mark Boucher (4) and Sunil Joshi (3) fell for single-digit scores. Joshi, however, also picked up a wicket with the ball.
Among these, Virat Kohli is still a vital member of the RCB team and will be seen in the 2025 edition of the IPL. He is also a part of India's Test and ODI teams.
Ross Taylor retired from international cricket in 2021 and is seen in action at tournaments like Legends League.
According to reports, Kallis might be seen as the mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2025. Following his retirement, Boucher has also taken up coaching roles. He was the head coach of Mumbai Indians and was replaced by Mahela Jayawardene for the 2025 season.
Sunil Joshi currently works as a commentator and is also the spin bowling coach of Punjab Kings.
Bowlers - Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Vinay Kumar, and Anil Kumble
RCB fielded three fast bowlers and one specialist spinner in that game. Interestingly, Praveen Kumar was the highest run-scorer with the bat for the home side, scoring 34 runs as they managed to score 135/8 in the end. He also picked up a wicket but was expensive, giving away 42 runs in three overs.
Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble were economical, returning with figures of 1/24 and 0/22, respectively, from four overs each. Kumble did not pick up a wicket on his debut but was impressive nonetheless.
Vinay Kumar returned with figures of 0/15 from his two overs. Despite a decent effort, the bowlers failed to defend the target as Rajasthan got past the finish line with seven wickets to spare.
Praveen Kumar has not taken up any role after his retirement and was last seen playing in the Legends League in 2023. Vinay Kumar recently played in the World Championship of Legends in 2024. He is also the talent scout for the Mumbai Indians.
Zaheer Khan has joined Lucknow Super Giants as their mentor for the IPL 2025 season while Anil Kumble does not currently have any coaching role.
