Another feather has been added to Anil Kumble's incredible hat of achievements after the legendary former spinner was announced as the national coach on Thursday.
The mechanical engineer from Bengaluru has spearheaded the Indian teams bowling for years and achieved all the possible accolades a player can manage before he hanged up his boots in 2008.
The renowned leggie might lack in experience of coaching an international team, but the 45-year-old makes up for it with his administrative roles and stints with the Indian Premier league franchises.
After making his Test debut as a 19-year-old in 1990 at the Old Trafford (Manchester), Kumble's position in the starting 11 has never been questioned.
Initially though Kumble was questioned for not being able to turn his leg-breaks or possessing a googly, but he made up for it with his other gifted traits.
Kumble may not spin the ball as much, but he is capable of finding the right spot ball after ball to make life difficult for the batsmen.
Be it a turning track or a bouncy wicket, the soft-spoken bowler has always carried the burden in the spin department for the Blue army.
Notably in Perth — known to be Australia's hunting ground — India dropped Harbhajan Singh and went into the game with Kumble as the only recognized spinner.
The man from the 'Garden City' made the Australians dancing on their toes in what was regarded as a pitch that only favours seamers. He took four wickets in the match and guided India to one of their famous ever Test victories.
The January, 2008, victory at Perth is one of the three Test victories for Kumble as a captain after taking the helm in November, 2007.
In total he led India in 14 matches, winning three, losing five and drawing six, until his retirement in 2008.
The greatest moment in his career will obviously be the 'Perfect 10' he managed in 1999 against Pakistan. Kumble, nicknamed Jumbo became the first player ever to dismiss all the ten batsmen when he pulled off a sensational 10-74 against fierce-rivals Pakistan at the Feroz Shah Kotla. With his impeccable consistency and perseverance, he made the entire world look at him.
Also never-say-die attitude is another strong mantra of Kumble which made him the superstar he was. Not even a broken jaw prevented the Jumbo from returning back to the field against West Indies in Antigua, 2002, and picking up the priced wicket of Brian lara.
Be it for Mohammed Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly — India's two most successful captains — Kumble has always been the go-to man when the team was in trouble.
His stats speak for himself. In an International career that spanned 18 years, Kumble has taken an astonishing 619 Test wickets. He was only behind to Muttiah Muralitharan (800 wickets) and Shane Warne (709 wickets).
Since the leggie did not feature much for India in the blue jersey during the fag end of his career may not make him any less in the ODI format as well. The 45-year-old has taken 337 wickets in the 5-over format.
He has also been a very handy batsman for Team India. He has scored 2,506 runs in 132 Test matches. It also includes a 110 vs England at Oval in 2007. He has five more Test fifties.
Administrative roles
Post retirement, Kumble held many administrative roles. He was first appointed to the athlete's commission of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), with his term starting in January, 2009.
In 2010, he was appointed President of the Karnataka State Cricket Association. He also served as the chairman of the National Cricket Academy during this period. In 2012, he was named head of the BCCI's Technical Committee.
Then he was appointed as the chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC)'s cricket committee in 2012. As recently as last month, he was re-appointed as Chairman, a post he will hold until 2018.
Not to mention, he also has coaching experience with the cash-rich IPl sides. Kumble held positions as a chief mentor for the teams Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians.