The speculations and reports needed just an official confirmation and now, the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) have given their verdict. Former Indian cricketer is the new coach of the Indian Cricket team, the cricket board announced on Thursday afternoon. His contract is one year long.
'Jumbo', as he is fondly known, beat competitions from former India team director Ravi Shastri, Stuart Law, Andy Moles and Pravin Amre. BCCI President Anurag Thakur made the major announcement following a meeting at the cricket board's ongoing annual conclave in Dharamsala.
Kumble, 45, was reportedly the only person present for the face-to-face interview conducted by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, in Kolkata on Monday. The likes of Shastri and Tom Moody had appeared for the interview via Skype. All the candidates had to make a presentation to pitch their ideas for the roadmap ahead of Indian cricket.
"Kumble wasn't shortlisted first," an official had told the Indian Express earlier. "People in the BCCI are well aware that Kumble doesn't meet two very important criteria set for the aspirants. He doesn't have any previous coaching experience at first-class or international level, nor is he a certified coach. This is why Kumble wasn't shortlisted following the initial scrutiny.
"But the committee wanted to look into his application, which was made available."
Kumble's only previous coaching assignment include being a mentor for Indian Premier League (IPL) sides Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI). He took a staggering 956 international wickets, the highest by an Indian in both Test and ODIs.
The Bengaluru-born leg spinner now fills the void left by Duncan Fletcher in the India team following the end of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
