Being part of Indian team for 18 yrs was the biggest moment: Anil Kumble

Former India skipper Anil Kumble on Saturday said that "being part of the Indian side for 18 years was the biggest moment of his life".

Recalling his 18-year-long career, the leg-spinner, said the Test series win against Pakistan and England was the golden moment of his career.

"For me, winning the Test series against Pakistan, in England. Being a part of the Indian team for 18 years was the biggest moment. Playing for the country and leading the team was a great honour. Of course, I will always be remembered for the ten wickets and that is something that will remain as my best performance. I had some wonderful moments throughout my career," Kumble told reporters after attending the 22nd Odisha Knowledge Hub Lecture series here.

The third-highest wicket-taker of all time in Tests cricket, with 619 wickets in 132 games, hailed the Odisha's participation in sports.

"It's good to see Odisha now taking the lead. I strongly believe that with so many experienced athletes we will see some champions emerging from the state," said Kumble.

Many initiatives have been taken by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and already international events like the 2018 Hockey World Cup has been organised here.

Kumble further stated that there is a need to focus on grassroots and a lot of infrastructure needs to be created for that.

"To become a sporting nation, we need to focus and invest at the grassroots level. This will lead to competition as well as raise the benchmark and help us win medals in the Olympics," Kumble said.

When asked about the retirement of MS Dhoni he said, "Only Dhoni can tell you".

Finance Minister of Odisha Niranjan Pujari, Development Commissioner Suresh Mahapatra, 5 T Secretary V.Kartikeyan Pandian, Sujata Pandian and many senior officers from the sports department were also present in this program.