The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that former Indian cricket captain Anil Kumble will take up the mantle of the senior team’s head coach. He will be given charge for a year initially with a provision for a renewal of contract. The board informed that the vacancies for specialist coaching positions will be floated shortly.
This is the first time in this millennium that the board has picked a local candidate as the team’s full-time head coach.
Justifying the one-year term, board secretary Ajay Shirke said, “Anil Kumble is now transforming himself from being a great on a cricketing field to a great coach we expect him to be. There is a transition there; therefore we are saying that the transition has to be smooth and therefore we want to be able to be in a position where we can review our options should there be any need. I am confident that we will not have any need but that’s the reason.”
The announcement made by board officials on the sidelines of the BCCI Conclave in Dharamsala, brings to an end, weeks of speculation about who would succeed Duncan Fletcher as India’s head coach. 57 applicants had put in their names for this vacancy that was advertised by the board on 1 June. In subsequent rounds, the list was pruned down to 21 with six or seven candidates being eventually called for the interview.
The selection process was carried out by the Cricket Advisory Committee of the BCCI, comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, and it is believed that one of the important deciding metrics was what the candidate planned to do to improve India’s performances overseas.
Anil Kumble’s chequered playing career saw him pick up 956 international wickets in 403 games for the country. While he does not have the experience of coaching an international or domestic side, as chief mentor, he was responsible for turning around Mumbai Indians’ fortunes in the Indian Premier League.
In 2007, after Rahul Dravid relinquished captaincy, Kumble took over India’s Test captaincy and led the side to a series win against Pakistan in his first assignment. However, his leadership will be best remembered for the way he rallied his team in the aftermath of the Monkeygate episode that unfolded Down Under in 2008.
The former leg-spinner will now take charge of the Indian side that is headed to the Caribbean for a four-match Test series next month. After which, India are slated to play a bumper home season spread across 13 Tests, eight ODIs and three T20s starting with New Zealand’s tour to India in September.