Indian spinner, Anil Kumble has recently released a book on photography called Wide Angle. The book is a culmination of writings, pictures and many candid moments with the Indian cricket team. The book was launched at the ITC Gardenia where Shane Warne was also cordially invited.
It seems from the book that the legendary player was always interested in wildlife photography. Wide Angle compiles the huge collection of photographs that were personally taken by the spinner on his international tours. Kumble said in a video presentation of the book, “It is those moments outside of the game that I would cherish for eternity.” He further added that his teammates always knew him as a photographer, “As long as I’m in the team, there’s no privacy for all of you.”
Kumble was introduced to photography by his brother, Dinesh Kumble and it was him who packed a small camera when he left for his first cricket camp. Anil has always had a camera since then. The book contains many starting moments of Kumble’s life and career including key milestones since he was 17 years old. Kumble also managed to capture important events and incidents related to the Indian cricket team like capturing Sachin Tendulkar when he scored his 35th Test century at New Delhi. Warne who was present at the book inauguration said, “I have been lucky enough or unlucky enough to play against Anil for nearly 20 years. We are still playing against each other in the IPL. We all know what a gentleman he is, how humble he is - and the way he conducts himself on and off the field is a real example to everybody. But don’t let that fool you that he is not competitive!” He further added, “I’ve been lucky enough to get to know Anil away from cricket and it is my pleasure and an honour to call him a friend. But once we get on the field none of us like to lose.”
Warne was in all praise of the former Indian skipper, “More than the statistics, I think the one stand-out fact about Anil Kumble is the size of his heart. That is the most important thing about a person. He is a giver no matter what the situation.” All the while, Kumble also shared many interesting facts about team India when they were off the field. He said the Harbhajan Singh, Venkatapathi Raju, [[]Vinod Kambl]i and Jawagal Srinath were amongst those who would be a constant source of entertainment in the team. “Probably, Bhajji is a live wire in the dressing room,” Kumble added about Harbhajan Singh. The priced book is produced by and marketed by Tenvic which is a division of Anil Kumble Sports Pvt Ltd. and is available at the cost of INR 5,900. Presently, Kumble is leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Indian Premier League (IPL) III.