'Not A Fairytale End'

"I wanted to go with the ball in my hand. It did not happen in the lastWorld Cup. It feels a bit different to be a part of the team and not play. I washurt at not being a part of the eleven but took it in my stride.

"I spoke to my colleagues and stayed on. This World Cup we had a goodchance but unfortunately it did not go our way. Its time for me to end and passthe mantle to young players," said 37-year-old Kumble.

The expected announcement came a day after his return from the disastrousWorld Cup in the Caribbean.

"It has been a one long journey that started in 1990. Today I formallyannounce my retirement from one-day cricket," Kumble told a pressconference in Bangalore.

"I thought of giving up ODIs four years back. Actually right throughoutmy career I was fortunate enough to be a part of the team. It became a habit tobe a part of the team," said Kumble, who has 337 ODI wickets from 271 one-dayersat an average of 30.89.

His Test figure reads 547 wickets in 113 matches with an average of 28.65.

Of late, Kumble was bogged down by a recurring shoulder injury, which oftenneeded pain-killing injections, and he had reached the career crossroad where hehad to take this decision to prolong his Test career.

A proven match-winner in the longer version of the game, Kumble,surprisingly, was never an automatic choice in one-dayers and he often had topave way for younger spin colleague Harbhajan Singh.

In this World Cup too, Kumble played just one match, picking up 3 for 38against Bermuda, while Harbhajan was preferred for India's matches againstBangladesh and Sri Lanka. Incidentally India's lone win in the World Cup cameagainst Bermuda.

"It's always nice to finish on a high note. Unfortunately, it does notseem to happen. There is not always a fairytale end. Hopefully it will happenwhen I leave Test cricket," he said.

Ironically, for someone who was not a certainty in one-day cricket, Kumbleboasts of the best ODI figures by an Indian bowler.

It was back in 1993 when he grabbed six wickets for 12 runs in the final ofthe Hero Cup at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and it's yet to bettered.

For someone who started as a medium pacer, it was almost inevitable thatKumble developed a faster delivery which often gate-crashed through batsman'sbat and pad to rattle the stumps.

Kumble was a perfect team-man too.

In the 2002 Antigua Test, Kumble had his jaw fractured by a Mervyn Dillonsnorter but that could not stop him from taking to the field again to bowl, jawsheavily strapped, and make a brave statement.

But the greatest moment of his career came in 1999, when he became the onlysecond bowler, after Jim Laker, to claim all 10 wickets in a Test inningsagainst Pakistan in Delhi.

Kumble never played to the gallery and never gave up even in the face ofharsh criticism.

His deliveries would skid, rather than spin, and that did not woo the fansbut perfectly served the team. He does not have Muthiah Muralitharan's turn orShane Warne's guile but his probing accuracy, variation in pace and the abilityto extract bounce from dead pitches saw him return with respectable figures.

In an era dominated by prodigal turners like Warne and Muralitharan, Kumbleheld his own and earned his place to be in the same bracket with the two otherspin legends.

"Cricket is just a sport. When you play and win or lose, you feelcricket is more than a sport. But when you come back home and see your familyand kids, you feel cricket is just a sport," he said.

"I cherished a lots of partnerships and memories. I thank my teammates,all the coaches and captains who supported me right through my career,"Kumble said.

PTI