NEW DELHI: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday named former Indian team captain Anil Kumble as new head coach.
“After discussions with various stakeholders we have taken the final call that for next one year Anil Kumble will be the head coach,” BCCI President Anurag Thakur said in a news briefing in New Delhi.
The coach’s post fell vacant after former head coach Ravi Shastri’s tenure as the team director ended earlier this year.
Earlier last week, BCCI claimed that it has received some 57 applications so far for the position of head coach.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the vacancy earlier this month after Shastri’s contract ended after the World Twenty20 in April.
Former Bangladesh coach Stuart Law, former Pakistan’s Coach Dav Whatmore, current chief selector of Indian Cricket Board Sandeep Patil, former team director of Indian cricket board Ravi Shastri, and ex-fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad are among those to have publicly expressed interest.
“It’s not about the Indian or foreign coach,” Thakur said. “It’s about who is the best for Indian cricket.
“Their presentations — how they will take Indian cricket forward… India deserves the best, and I think we have it in Anil Kumble.”
However, Thakur said, BCCI has handed a one-year contract to Kumble so the board could review their options for one of world cricket’s most challenging jobs at the end of that time.
Kumble has been a mentor of the Mumbai and Bangalore teams in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.
Commenting on his selection, Kumble said: “It’s a great honour and a great responsibility to coach the Indian team.”
“I think it was the right time to be back in the Indian dressing room in a different role.”