Anil Kumble reveals his 'golden' moment in his 18-year long career

Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble on Saturday recalled his 18-year-long career and stated that being part of the Indian side for so long was the biggest moment of his life. The former cricketer stated that the Test series win against Pakistan and England was the golden moment of his career.

"For me, winning the Test series against Pakistan, in England. Being a part of the Indian team for 18 years was the biggest moment. Playing for the country and leading the team was a great honour. Of course, I will always be remembered for the ten wickets and that is something that will remain as my best performance. I had some wonderful moments throughout my career," Kumble told reporters after attending the 22nd Odisha Knowledge Hub Lecture series here.

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Odisha's participation in sports 

The third-highest wicket-taker of all time in Tests cricket, with 619 wickets in 132 games, hailed the Odisha's participation in sports.

"It's good to see Odisha now taking the lead. I strongly believe that with so many experienced athletes we will see some champions emerging from the state," said Kumble.

The Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government has drawn many initiatives and international events like the 2018 Hockey World Cup has been organised. Kumble further stated that there is a need to focus on grassroots and a lot of infrastructure needs to be created for that.

"To become a sporting nation, we need to focus and invest at the grassroots level. This will lead to competition as well as raise the benchmark and help us win medals in the Olympics," Kumble said.

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Anil Kumble on MS Dhoni

As far as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's return is concerned, Kumble, like many others, also feels that the IPL form will be critical for the former skipper. "It's all about how MS (Dhoni) goes about the IPL and if at all the Indian team believes that they need his services for the World Cup then from there on he may be a part of the team. But we will have to wait and see," he said.

A few days ago, current India coach Ravi Shastri spoke about how K L Rahul could be a backup option for the T20 World Cup, and Kumble thought likewise. However, Kumble believed that the second wicketkeeper's slot should be locked 10-12 games before the start of the T20 World Cup.

"...K L Rahul is someone that India may look to also use. Because he is pretty safe in the T20 format. He is good, he has kept wickets for Karnataka. And we know the quality that he brings to white-ball cricket as a batsman, so yes that is a very good option. But whatever option India take, I think it is important to freeze on that at least 10-12 matches prior to the World Cup," he said.

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(With Inputs from ANI)