Cricket: BCCI names Anil Kumble as the new Team India head coach

Anil Kumble

BCCI President Anurag Thakur on Thursday named former India skipper Anil Kumble as the head coach of the national cricket team for the next one year.
The decision was taken after Sourav Ganguly, one of the members of the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) also comprising Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman, met Thakur and Secretary Ajay Shirke at the ongoing cricket conclave here.
Kumble's first assignment with the national team will be the gruelling four-match Test tour to the West Indies next month.
The other big names in contention for the job were Ravi Shastri, Tom Moody, Stuart Law Lalchand Rajput, Pravin Amre and Andy Moles.
"India deserves the best. Kumble is a match-winner," BCCI chief Anurag Thakur told media after announcing the leg-spinner's appointment as the India coach.
Kumble has no coaching experience but has mentored Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL. The former India skipper has shared the dressing room with Ganguly, Tendulkar and Laxman. The 45-year-old, who made a 45-minute presentation on Tuesday, is one of the favourites to get the job
Kumble, himself a legend of the game and the most celebrated cricketer in the list, is the highest India wicket-taker in both Tests and One Day Internationals, with 956 scalps.
The applicants were interviewed by a three-member advisory panel comprising former players Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. The panel met again on Wednesday to deliberate further on the options and possibilities based on the presentations made by the applicants.
Last week, the sport's governing body had shortlisted 21 candidates out of 57 applicants for the post of head coach of the Indian team after they met the primary criteria specified by the BCCI.