New Delhi, May 21 (IANS): Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said that India spin great Anil Kumble gave him some "sleepless nights" as a batsman. Sangakkara said that Kumble's height made him quite unorthodox as a leg-spinner.

"Kumble has given me a few sleepless nights as a batsman. He was not your orthodox leg-spinner. This big, tall gangly bowler running in and bowling with very high arm action," said Sangakkara in a video tweeted by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

"Bowling fast, bowling straight and accurately. It was not at all easy to get him away for runs. A lot of bounce... he had great pace on the ball and if there was any rough on a length, the batsman had very little chance of getting away. Lovely guy, very intense cricketer but an absolute champion for India and world cricket," said Sangakkara.

Kumble is India's all-time highest wicket taker in Tests and ODIs with 619 and 337 wickets, respectively.