A statistical breakdown between two legends. The comparison between Ian Botham and Anil Kumble may sound unusual but is definitely an interesting one. As Kumble is mostly known for his bowling impact, Botham was an all-rounder, so this analysis will be limited to their bowling stats only. 

These two former internationals from different eras cemented their legacy with their on-field efforts. When Kumble was an active cricketer, India was considered one of the underdog cricket-playing countries despite winning the 1983 World Cup. And England, during Botham's tenure, was one of the leading forces of the cricket world. 

Ian Botham:

Botham's legacy was beyond the cricket fields. During the 1980s, he was one of the top English sports personalities in the world. With his skills, dominance, and flamboyant personality, Botham often appeared in newspaper headlines. In 102 Test matches, the pace bowling all-rounder claimed 383 wickets with his individual best bowling figure of 13/106 for a match. In total, the right-handed bowler notched 5-wicket figures 27 times and 10-wicket hauls on 4 occasions. In ODIs, the former England skipper got 145 wickets in 115 innings. His Test career launched with a bang by pocketing 5 wickets each in two back-to-back matches against their arch rivals, Australia. In his career's fourth Test match, both got 8 wickets. During a match against India in 1980 at Wankhede, Botham booked 13 wickets in his name. 

Read More: WATCH: Kieron Pollard's 7 sixes in 8 balls in CPL 2025

Anil Kumble:

Kumble made his Test debut for India in August 1990, though he had to wait a couple of years more to become a regular cricketer for Team India in the Whites. Like Botham, Kumble's initial few matches were beyond expectations. The tall boy from Karnataka quickly established himself as a regular wicket-taking spinner in the format. His first six matches were parts of an overseas tour, where he got wickets in a regular manner. With his towering height, the spinner often caught batters by surprise by generating extra bounce from any type of surface. In 132 test matches, the spinner took a total of 619 wickets, including a best match figure of 14/149. In ODIs, he bagged 337 wickets after playing 271 games. Anil Kumble's best moment for India was his historic 10-wicket haul against Pakistan in Delhi on February 7, 1999, where he took all ten wickets in an innings, a rare feat in cricket history. 

Ian Botham vs Anil Kumble Test Bowling Stats Comparison

Ian Botham vs Anil Kumble ODI Bowling Stats Comparison

Simply the best from Ian Botham. From out of nowhere, when Australia started to smell a delicate win at Birmingham, Botham did incredible.

From 105 for 5 to 121 for 10. Ian Botham deserved to be the man of the match winner. The feat created by him back on August 2, 1981, is still considered as one of the iconic moments of The Ashes, which dignifies the intense rivalry between England and Australia. It was not among those high-scoring matches in the history of cricket.

That Ashes match was mostly dominated by the bowlers. A flurry of astonishing spells from the bowlers of both ends. Terry Alderman's 5-wicket haul was the hint in the first innings, which was later enhanced by Dennis Lillee and Ray Bright from the Aussie brigade. Mike Brearley, then the captain of England, dragged his team's total to 189 in the first innings with his individual 48. Australia replied strongly. With a combination of individual resilience and patience, they got 258 in their first innings batting.

Read More: OTD: Graeme Smith's 259 forced England to submission at Lord's

The best from the best

In the second innings, England again was not able to do much with their batting work, scoring only 219 and setting a target of 151 for Australia. It was not a tough target for a team that had batters like Allan Border, Kim Hughes (c), Martin Kent, and Rod Marsh in the lineup. The visiting side positioned them nicely to grab a win until they came into the crease for the run chase. England did not allow them to set on the wicket and create a long-standing partnership.

From the beginning of the second innings, they started to lose their scalps; Ian Botham came to blow away their last hope of ray. In 14 overs, he took 5 wickets with 9 maiden overs and a 0.78 economy rate. 

Ian Botham, a former England all-rounder, expressed concern that Test cricket would lose ground in India, particularly in light of the IPL’s growing popularity.

“You go to India now and they won’t watch Test cricket. It’s all IPL. They earn big money and it sounds great now, but how long do they think this is going to last? Test cricket has been around for 100 years plus, it’s not going to go anywhere,”

Botham told the Mirror Sport ahead of the Border Gavaskar series.

ALSO READ: IND Breaks PAK Record After Massive NZ Win

“And if we do lose Test cricket, then we’ll lose cricket as we know it. It will become meaningless. To play a Test match is what every player should want to do,”

he added.

In addition, Botham discussed the forthcoming Ashes tour and stated that England could very well defeat Australia due to Bazball’s role in the Three Lions’ turnaround

Botham responded positively when asked if it is a viable procedure that can be continued:

“Yes, it’s sustainable, they’ve just played 10 games, won nine and lost one. Look, if you play like that you’re going to lose occasionally, it’s inevitable, but what a great advert for Test cricket. To win 3-0 in Pakistan is a great effort. Pakistan just don’t lose 3-0 at home. And to achieve that was fantastic. I think they’ll continue to play in that way; I think it’s something that goes through the dressing room, and they all want to be positive and they want to win. It’s not just about their batting that way, but bowling as well. They’ve decided they are going to go down this route and I think it’s the right way.”

he said.