Test skipper Anil Kumble has come out strongly in defence of the starry Indian middle-order batsmen who came a cropper against the Sri Lankan spin duo of Ajantha Mendis and Muthiah Muralitharan in the recently concluded three-match series in the Emerald Isle which the visitors lost 2-1.“I don’t know who gave this tag - Fab Four. They have done so much for Indian cricket over the last fifteen years.Agreed, they failed in this Test series, but it happens in cricket. We should not forget their contribution in the past,” he said at a promotional event in Mumbai.The ‘Fab Four’ the ace leg spinner was referring to - Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman - performed much below expectations in the series.“This was the first series they could not perform. I feel it’s too harsh on them since they have been constantly performing over the last decade,” Kumble said and pointed out that Laxman should not be considered to have failed.“To put Laxman in that list is not fair since he performed well. Sourav and Rahul, although, were having it tough, but you cannot write them off,” he defended.Laxman was the most impressive performer among these stalwarts, aggregating 215 runs with two half centuries and an average of 43.0 to his credit.Dravid accumulated 148 runs averaging an unimpressive 24.66 while Tendulkar, within striking distance of overhauling Brian Lara’s record Test run aggregate, and Ganguly flopped miserably.
