Anil Kumble

"I have no regrets. Whatever happens, happens for good. I have done everything I could on a cricket field. 10 wickets in a match… A century… 600 wickets… Captaincy… I have done everything."

"Nobody told me when to retire. Sourav (Ganguly) took his decision, I took my own decision, there was no pressure. Let`s leave it to the individuals. Criticism is fine but don`t do it without reason. Don`t start questioning the ability of the players. There is no retirement scheme, that`s rubbish."

"...not just cricket, but the success of athletes in other sports have helped India become a sporting nation."

"For years, we thought we are a sporting nation but we had little to show. In the last decade, India's sporting success has changed all that."

"The improved performances at Commonwealth Games, London Olympics and world tournaments by chess, billiards, snooker badminton and tennis players are evidence of the improved progress that we have made."

"Other sports can take a cue from cricket too. A generation ago, if anybody had suggested that a player from Ranchi would lead India one day, he would have been laughed at."

"In 1990 as a teenager I took my first step in cricket and was eager for some kind words in the cricketing world and I then I came across a comment from an accomplished Indian cricket. I quote 'This lad I don't see him winning Test match for India either at home or abroad. He rarely turns the ball, at best he can be restrictive'. The assessment came from Mr Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Two decades of international cricket and 619 Test wicket later, it is indeed a great honour to address this lecture."

"The first question that I was asked on my post retirement was how does it feel to finish with 619 wickets without spinning the ball. I said it is nice that it took 18 years to realise that."

"India cricket team realised its number one status, we won the Twenty20 World Cup, The 50-over World Cup and the Champions Trophy. I am proud to be a part of the core group that laid the foundation."

"No bowler in history won India more Test matches than Anil Kumble, and there probably hasn't been a harder trier either. Like the great tall wrist spinners Bill O'Reilly and his own idol BS Chandrasekhar, Kumble traded the leg spinner's proverbial yo-yo for a spear, as the ball hacked through the air rather than hanging in it and came off the pitch with a kick rather than a kink. The method provided him stunning success, particularly on Indian soil, where his deliveries burst like packets of water upon the feeblest hint of a crack, and more than one modern-day batsman remarked that there was no more difficult challenge in cricket than handling Kumble on a wearing surface."

"Kumble's prodigious capacity to bear pain was proved in Antigua in 2002 when he bandaged his fractured jaw to deliver a stirring spell, and that to continuously learn in the mid-2000s when, after a decade of middling away performances, he influenced memorable wins in Headingley, Adelaide, Multan and Kingston, using an improved googly, bigger sidespin and more variation in flight and on the crease."

"If Kumble was born in Australia or England, he would have got much more prominence in world cricket considering his superb record in both forms of the game. Kumble is definitely the best role model for any youngster entering the game."

"I would like to congratulate Anil for his long and successful career. He is a great competitor and every single player of my team, who has played against him, is proud of the cricketer. I wish he enjoys his time after the game."

"It`s truly an honour and privilege to have played in the same era. He will remain an inspiration for the next generations. To become another Anil Kumble one will have to work really, really hard. I have not come across a greater cricketer, who is good so dedicated to his work. –"

"He is an extraordinary man with extraordinary career. It`s been a privilege to play with him. It was emotional for all of us but it`s a great time to celebrate the farewell of one of India`s greatest cricketers."

"Anil Kumble is a true fighter, always had this never-say-die attitude and is thoroughly a true gentleman. He never got involved in any controversy and whatever he did he did it to the best of his abilities. He is a great ambassador of cricket."

"He is a thorough gentleman, very strong manners."

"He must have decided (to retire) during the course of the day. He spoke to me during tea time and said that he has decided to call it quits. It`s the end of an era. A lot of players in the team, I cannot tell you the names, were in tears when he told them his decision. It was an emotional moment for the team and me. He was an extraordinary cricketer, a great role model, not only for the youngsters but also for the future generations."

"He is a fantastic a cricketer and a human being who played his game in the right spirit throughout his career. It is a sad day for Indian cricket. It actually came as a shock to us. We will have to wait and watch, how India copes up without Kumble."

"It is very difficult for somebody to get into his shoes. He is a cricketer who never compromised his dignity and always played with determination. –"

"Kumble was a real, out and out professional. It is definitely a sad day for Indian cricket. You won`t realise the impact of his retirement now but when you won`t hear his name after some days, you will his void. He decided to retire absolutely at the right time. A few days back I wrote in a column that you don`t have to tell Kumble when to retire because being a true gentleman he knows when to take the call. Kumble left the game with utmost respect. He showed his true sportsmanship in Australia. –"

"It is the right time for him to retire, the best time that Kumble would have looked for. He has done a great job for India and is leaving on a high. He has made his debut under me in the state. He has been a dedicated, sincere, honest, disciplined and good thinking and a great champion cricketer and on the basis on these I can say that I have literally seen him grow and establish himself as a icon and a legendary cricketer both on the field and off it."

"Nobody is going to be his successor, no one can replace Kumble. He is one of the finest leg-spinners in the world. Over the years he had developed variety in his bowling by working hard. I rate him very high. I do not think it was because of any sort of pressure. Media is going to be with you every time. If you play well they will praise you and they will criticise you if you play badly. And I think Kumble has taken it well in his stride. At the end of the day he is a gentleman."