Which umpire was at the bowler’s end during all the dismissals when Anil Kumble took 10 wickets in a Test innings against Pakistan?
A question in the popular TV trivia show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) about Anil Kumble's record 10-wicket-haul against Pakistan in 1999 has gone viral.
The question, worth ₹12,50,000 in prize money, asked about the umpire who, coincidentally, was at the bowler's end to judge all 10 wickets.
The four options given to the participant were Piloo Reporter, S Venkataraghavan, David Shephard, and AV Jayaprakash. The correct answer is AV Jayaprakash, a former first-class cricketer and umpire from Karnataka.
An all-rounder, Jayaprakash played 79 first-class and 15 List-A games for Karnataka. He scored over 3500 runs and picked up 77 wickets. His umpiring career began against England in 1993 at Gwalior in an ODI and he officiated in 23 Tests, 54 ODIs, 30 first-class matches, 20 List As, and 13 T20s.
Jayaprakash once talked about his memory of officiating in the special game.
“Today, so many years down the line, it feels as if I am a part of the history books along with Anil Kumble," he told the Indian Express. "I have kept a CD of that match and sometimes, when my friends and family come for a visit and insist on revisiting those days, I rewind and watch it along with them."
This was only his second Test and he saw the leg-spinner join Jim Laker as only the second bowler then to take all 10 wickets in an innings. He was one of the five Umpires’ Performance Managers appointed by the International Cricket Council and a part of the BCCI’s Illegal Actions Committee.
"Wrong to attribute wickets or accuse the umpires of any sort of bias" - Anil Kumble on AV Jayaprakash
In an interview with his spin heir in Team India Ravichandran Ashwin, Anil Kumble recalled that Jayaprakash was accused of bias because they were from the same state.
“There were talks that AV Jayaprakash was from Bangalore but I think it’s wrong to attribute wickets or accuse the umpires of any sort of bias. If there was DRS, I would have probably gotten the 10 earlier. That’s how I look at it,” he told Ashwin in an interview in DRS with Ash in 2020.
Kumble also recalled how till he had picked the eighth and ninth wicket, he didn't think much about the historical record.