Former India batsman VVS Laxman shared the dressing room with a number of Indian stalwarts, which included Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly to Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh. These were all match-winners in their own right and hence, to pick one as a big match-winner is a difficult prospect.
However, Laxman did not quite hesitate in naming former India captain and head coach Anil Kumble as the biggest match-winner for India he has played with. "My dear friend Anil Kumble is probably India's biggest match-winner... The biggest match-winner I played with," said VVS Laxman.
The former India batsman Laxman went on to narrate the story of his first match against Anil Kumble which went way back to 1995 in the Challengers Trophy.
Laxman on his first encounter with Kumble
"It was a bad memory. I did well for Hyderabad, and India U 19 so was picked for the India B side in the Challengers Trophy. The match was happening in the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium. I can never forget the sound of the ball hitting my pad... Against a leggie you go on the backfoot try to hit it square of the wicket... I did that in the previous ball but the next ball struck my pads even before my bat came down, Anil was quick in the air," said Laxman.
"I had heard about you. I knew you were a backfoot player. Probably that's how I used to set up a player. I just got lucky that day and I also remember coming to you after that match telling you not to play on the backfoot," Kumble added after Laxman's recollection of the episode.
Laxman, who represented India 134 Tests, shared the dressing room with Kumble in 84 of those matches. He also played under Kumble's captaincy between 2006 and 2008. Kumble retired in late 2008 as the highest wicket-taker for India with 619 wickets to his name.
Kumble will take over as head coach of Kings XI Punjab this season. He comes with a wide range of experience and his 1st assignment as head coach will be at IPL auction, scheduled for December 19 in Kolkata.
"I have got another opportunity to work with the players and I am really looking forward to that. In IPL, whether you have a good start or not the finish has to be good, it's a roller coaster ride. I don't want the team to panic because it can happen when if you constantly focus on the points table," Kumble said after the appointment.
