“The doctor literally kept my lower jaw together in one place with temporary wiring”: Anil Kumble on the broken jaw incidence

Anil Kumble, a legendary Indian leg-spinner, is frequently praised for a truly brave and gallant incident in Indian cricket history. Kumble was hit in the jaw during batting during the 2002 Test match between the West Indies and Antigua, and further scans revealed that he needed to return to India the next day for surgery.

In spite of having a broken jaw, the leg spinner shown incredible bravery by coming out to bowl in West Indies’ opening innings. Kumble had his jaw severely wrapped and appeared to be in discomfort, but his primary concern was giving his team the best possible performance.

Kumble said

Here is what Anil Kumble had to say about his wife Chethana’s response when he told her he was going to bowl despite the broken jaw when he spoke to Robin Uthappa on Jio Cinema’s programme “Home of Heroes”:

“I told my wife, Chethana, and I called her up. When we spoke, I said, ‘Look I know I have to come home because I just need surgery.’ So, she arranged for all of that in Bangalore. And as I dropped off the call, I just told her that, ‘Look I’ll go and bowl,’ but she thought probably I was just joking. I don’t think she even took it seriously. ‘What’s he saying?'”

“I was the only spinner in the playing XI. I didn’t play the last two Tests and here I was coming after an injury. So I knew I had to go out there and win the game. We had a chance as we got 600-odd (513) and you don’t get that many every time overseas,” he further added. 

“I thought that if I was able to take a couple of wickets maybe I can put my team in a good position. I knew I was going to come home the next day,” the leg spinner said, 

Anil Kumble continued by describing the temporary measures the doctor used to keep his jaw in place. He also discussed the types of food he was permitted to eat, saying:

“The doctor literally kept my lower jaw together in one place with temporary wiring. I was on liquids and even (drinking) the liquids was not easy. And I mean, West Indies and vegetarian what do you get (laughs) so you try and make do whatever you have there.”

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