Finally, Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble admitted that everytime he has been left out of the one-day team, it has hurt him. Well, it's about time! I still can't figure out why Anil has been left out of the one dayers so often in the recent past. Says Anil, "It hurt a lot three years ago [during the 2003 World Cup] but I have got used to it. To tell you the truth, I don't think much about it. Why worry when such things can affect your performance? Initially I used to get worked up, but not now. Look at how some people want me to play one-day cricket now. Strange they said nothing when I was dropped from the one-day team."

Probably one of the best spinners in the world, he has improved his batting in recent times as well. And one can never say he is a poor fielder. For his age, he is very athletic and no wonder he is mostly positioned at gully, one of the crucial fielding positions in cricket. With all this, he still gets dropped. You might argue saying two spinners in the one day format is too much, and Harbhajan Singh is better in the shorter version of the game. That is so untrue. Kumble is a way better bowler in any form of the game and Harbhajan Singh has a long way to go to reach Anil's record and commitment. He feels he's been taken for granted. "I don't think the demands are unreasonable, but often I think am taken for granted," he said. "I find it strange that when I take five wickets, it is considered no big deal because I am expected to do so. But if I finish with two or three wickets, it is said that I have had a poor game. That is not fair. Can a batsman score a century every time he walks to the middle?". That is so true man! The selectors are a bunch of no good favoritism-loving pricks.

And with all this, he might be asked to play the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. No worries, since Anil is such a great player, he doesn't need any practice before he goes out onto the field and makes the batsmen dance in their crease. Good luck Anil, hope you kick some serious ass!


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