AFP, New Delhi :
Former Test captain Anil Kumble was on Thursday named the new head coach of India for a one-year period, taking over the reins of one of the most high-profile sides in world cricket.
The highest Indian Test wicket-taker, Kumble, 45, is known for his work ethic and never-say-die attitude — attributes that tipped the scale in his favour during a tough selection process.
The Indian team, ranked number two in Tests, enjoys the adulation of millions of cricket crazy fans ensuring high TV viewership that in turn translates into lucrative profits for the board.
“After doing discussions with various stakeholders we have selected Anil Kumble for a period of one year,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur told reporters in the northern town of Dharamsala.
The spin great was chosen from a list of 57 applicants received by the BCCI which was later pruned and placed in front of an advisory panel.
Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman were among the panel members involved in selecting Kumble as coach.
“This is the first time we have gone through an elaborate process… interviews (were conducted) by cricketing legends,” BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke said.
Asked why Kumble was given only a one-year contract, Shirke replied: “Anil Kumble is now transforming himself from being (a) great on the cricketing field to becoming the great coach that we expect him to be.”
Kumble did not fulfil the BCCI’s stated criteria of “having coached an international side”, yet he managed to sneak past many prominent Indian and foreign candidates.
Former team director Ravi Shastri, who was performing coaching duties for the team under a stop-gap arrangement after Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher’s exit in 2015, was also in the frame for the coach’s role.
The month-long process for selecting the coach culminated during the penultimate day of an ongoing BCCI conclave in Dharamsala.
