Anil Kumble Appointed as Team India Head Coach
Former captain Anil Kumble was appointed as the Indian cricket team's head coach for one-year tenure on 23.06.2016, Thursday. The committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly had interviewed 10 candidates for the job in Kolkata on 21.06.2016, Tuesday in a marathon session which lasted close to 10 hours.
- After discussions with various stakeholders, we have decided that Anil Kumble will be the head coach of the Indian cricket team for the next one year," BCCI President Anurag Thakur said in a press conference in Dharamsala.
- The BCCI received 57 applications for the post and trimmed it down to 21 before handing over the list to CAC that interviewed the candidates shortlisted by them. Among them were Ravi Shastri, Lalchand Rajput, Pravin Amre, Kumble, Tom Moody, Stuart Law and Andy Moles.
Kumble, the highest wicket-taker for India till date and third in the international list behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne, emerged as a front-runner in the last few days even though he has no experience in coaching in the international arena.
- Kumble's stint as a mentor with IPL teams such as Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians as well as his vast experience as an international cricketer might have tilted the scale in his favour.
- The former leg-spinner played 132 Test matches and 271 ODIs in a career spanning close to two decades.
- Kumble finished his Test career with 619 scalps and accumulated 337 ODI wickets which put his combined tally at 956 in two formats.
- The leg-spinner was the only bowler after England's Jim Laker to have taken all 10 wickets in a Test innings.