Kumble announces Test retirement

Anil Kumble receives a guard of honour as he takes to the field for the last time

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India skipper Anil Kumble is to retire from Test cricket at the end of the third match of the Border-Gavaskar Series against Australia.

Kumble, who sat out the second Test in Mohali with a shoulder injury, has missed much of the third match in Delhi due to a finger problem sustained in the field.

The 38-year-old made the announcement before declaring India’s second innings in the final session of the third match.

He will not play the fourth Test in Nagpur, which starts on Friday.

Kumble becomes the second senior India player to retire during this series, with Sourav Ganguly already having announced he will quit after the fourth Test.

The decision brings to end a fabulous career for India's most prolific bowler and the world's third highest Test wicket-taker.

Kumble, a veteran of 131 Tests, had been under intense pressure to retire following a lean series in the three-Test series in Sri Lanka in July this year.

His performance had dipped considerably from the high standards which had made him a feared opponent since he made his debut as a bespectacled and studious-looking bowler in August 1990.

Kumble was never a big turner of the ball, but flummoxed opposition batsmen with bounce and zip.

Although he made his debut in 1990, he came to prominence two years later when he claimed 6-53 in the second innings against South Africa in Johannesburg.

Since then, he has featured heavily in several memorable victories for India.

Perhaps his finest achievement came in 1999 when he became only the second player after England's Jim Laker to take all 10 wickets in an innings, achieving the feat against Pakistan as India secured their first Test win over Pakistan in 19 years.

He was named captain of India in November last year, after Rahul Dravid had relinquished his hold on the mantle and Sachin Tendulkar had refused a second stint at the helm.

That moment of glory came just months after he had scored his first Test century, a feat which even his greatest contemporary Shane Warne had failed to achieve.

However, ever since the defeat in Sri Lanka, Kumble and the rest of the seniors have been under intense pressure.

Kumble retires with 619 Test wickets to his name at a shade under 30 runs apiece.