3. Anil Kumble:
If Sachin Tendulkar lived up to the expectations with the bat, Anil Kumble always exceeded it with the ball. Who would have thought that a player who began his career as a medium-pacer will go down in history as one of the greatest leg-spinners of all time?
With a staggering 619 scalps, he is India’s highest Test wicket-taker and is third on the all-time list, only behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708).
His phenomenal 10-wicket haul in Pakistan’s second innings in the Kotla Test in 1999, made him only the second man after England’s Jim Laker to have achieved that feat, which is still fresh in every cricket’s fans memory.
He also has a century to his name which came at The Oval during India’s historic series win in England in 2007. The Karnataka star is regarded by many as India’s greatest Test match-winner for his integral roles in the monumental wins in Headingley, Adelaide, Multan and Kingston, not to mention the several wins at home.