Anil Kumble appointed as coach of Indian cricket team

Anil Kumble has been named as the new coach of the Indian cricket team for the next one year. The former Indian Test captain will take charge of the team for the tour of West Indies, which will include 4 Tests against the Jason Holder-led side.

Kumble is said to have pipped another former Indian Test captain in Ravi Shastri to the post. It is said that the Bangalorean’s presentation to the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman was what turned the tide in his favour.

The BCCI haven't named any batting, bowling or fielding coach, with BCCI President Anurag Thakur mentioning that an announcement regarding the same will be made soon.

The other big names who had applied for the job were Lalchand Rajput, Stuart Law, Tom Moody, Venkatesh Prasad and Praveen Amre.

India have been without a full-time coach since Duncan Fletcher’s contract ended after the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015. Shastri was in-charge of the team, serving as the Team Director until the ICC World T20 earlier this year.

Kumble is the first Indian to be appointed as the full-time coach of the Men in Blue since Kapil Dev 16 years ago. Since Kapil Dev’s tenure, India have had John Wright, Greg Chappell, Gary Kirsten and Fletcher as coaches.

The 45-year-old has previously mentored the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. He also served as the President of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) from 2010 to 2013.

Kumble has been the Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee since 2012, a role he will leave after taking up the Indian coaching job.

Kumble is India’s highest wicket-taker of all time with 619 wickets to his name. He retired in 2008 after captaining the Indian Test team in 14 Tests. In the aftermath of the controversial Sydney Test in 2008, he was heavily praised for the way he handled the situation as the skipper of the team.

Congrats to Anil Kumble the new Indian Cricket team head coach. Now I feel old as I had seen you as player and now you are coach..

— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) June 23, 2016

So much talk about Anil Kumble's excellent presentation... If he is appointed as head coach, maybe BCCI should put it up on their website?!

— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) June 23, 2016