After poor show in first Test, talks galore about Kumbles retirement

After a lackluster performance in the first Test against the visiting Aussies - 160 runs in 51 overs and no wicket, Indian Test captain Anil Kumble might be planning his retirement, claimed a report in foxsports.com.

Bangalore, Oct 14 : After a lackluster performance in the first Test against the visiting Aussies - 160 runs in 51 overs and no wicket, Indian Test captain Anil Kumble might be planning his retirement, claimed a report in foxsports.com.

Kumble (37) endured a miserable match with the ball, and there was talk on Monday night that he was ready to retire and hand the captaincy to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it added.

According to the report, this was the third match in his entire 131-match career when the ace leg spinner had finished a Test wicketless.

His woes were exacerbated by a shoulder injury which kept him off the field for some time and prevented him from bowling until the 54th over of Australia's second innings. The extent of the injury remained a point of conjecture, although the hosts did their best to play dumb by mysteriously sending out their fielding coach to answer questions after play on Sunday.

Kumble has already had his bowling shoulder surgically repaired, and is believed to have hurt the crucial rotator cuff, an injury which contributed to the demise of Pat Rafter's tennis career.

Kumble, India's leading wicket-taker in Test history, has destroyed many a team with conditions like this in his favour, but, clearly, he wasn't the force he once was, the paper said and added that there were growing concerns about him on the mid-year tour of Sri Lanka, where he took only eight wickets at 50 in three Tests on pitches custom built for Muthiah Muralidaran and Ajentha Mendis.

ANI