"Under-rated" Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble is as hard a competitor as former Australian fast bowling great Dennis Lillee, coach Greg Chappell said here on Saturday.
"I rate him (Kumble) as one of the great bowlers not only in India, but all over the world," Indian coach Chappell said on the eve of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka.
"He is a fierce competitor. I have always rated Dennis Lillee as the hardest competitor I have seen and I would put Anil up there with Dennis."
Lillee retired from Test cricket in 1984 after grabbing 355 wickets in 70 Tests.
Kumble is set to become only the fifth Indian to figure in 100 Tests after all-rounder Kapil Dev (131) and batsmen Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar (125 each) and Dilip Vengsarkar (116).
"Kumble is a very under-rated bowler," said Chappell, a former Australia Test captain.
"He has got terrific control. He hardly bowled a bad ball in the second Test at Delhi. I could count only three bad balls from him which were pulled. He has got subtle variations, excellent control and consistency."
Kumble, 35, bagged 10 wickets in the second Test to play a vital role in his team's 188-run victory over Sri Lanka for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The first Test ended in a draw at Chennai.
The Indian is only the second bowler in Test cricket after Englishman Jim Laker to bag all 10 wickets in an innings, achieving the feat against Pakistan at Delhi in 1999.
Kumble has so far taken 478 wickets in 99 Tests.