So the worst kept secret of the past week has finally been outed. Anil Kumble has been named the new head coach of India, but just for the coming year. (Read: Welcome Back Jumbo! Anil Kumble Named India’s Head Coach)
While there have been a lot of comments about the tenure that Kumble has been appointed for, it is a fair decision by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCCI, its Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) and the various stakeholders realize that the coming year is a litmus test for Indian cricket in more ways than one.
Not Entirely at Home
It is all very well to say India plays a lot of cricket at home in the next year and so Kumble’s role will largely be successful. However, it is foolhardy to assume that New Zealand, England and Australia will just be coming to be rolled over as India get set to host host 13 Tests, 8 ODIs & 3 T20Is in a 2016-17 home season. The three teams are tough sides who have started travelling well.
England, especially, has been successful in India in the Test match format on the last few tours and in fact won the last series in 2012-13. New Zealand is tough as nails and Australia can never be discounted because of their thorough approach. With all these facts on the table, it is always going to be a task for India, even in home conditions in the coming year. So if we assume that we are going to have it easy just because of success in the Test series against South Africa, then we will be making a mistake.
Champions Trophy is a Challenge
The tail-end of Kumble’s one-year contract will see India defending the Champions Trophy in England in June 2017. That will be a tough tournament because it is short, sharp and almost a knockout. There are enough and more challenges in the coming year.
Smart Move
The next set of overseas tours is still some time away, so you have to plan for the immediate target. The ideal scenario would have been a three-year tenure, but the fact that BCCI has clearly spelt out their expectations makes Kumble’s job easier. Kumble will however have to be smart about picking a support staff because those choices will determine the kind of efforts India put on the field.
World View
Kumble has spent fair bit of time as International Cricket Council (ICC)‘s cricket committee chairman and has spearheaded the study to have a closer look at improving the technology used in the Decision Review System (DRS). Hopefully, Kumble is able to convince India to drop its inhibitions and at least embrace this aspect of the game so that they are not robbed of half chances. India needs to be more integrated with the world view on the sport and Kumble’s recent experience will contribute to it.
Chalk and Cheese
The biggest talking point about Kumble’s appointment has been about his possible equation with India’s Test captain Virat Kohli. Both are different personalities with different backgrounds, but with aggression being the unifying factor. Kumble expressed with his eyes, Kohli to put it mildly is more vocal. In a way Kohli needs a sounding board like Kumble who is different to him to help have a contrarian view on issues to make informed decisions. You cannot have ‘yes men’ in the dressing room because that hardly helps a decision making process.
Great Players Do Not Make Great Coaches?
India’s experience with great cricketers being elevated as head coaches has almost always ended in disaster. In 1990, the great Bishen Bedi was appointed the first-ever cricket manager (as coach was called then) with much fanfare. But on his third tour he developed problems with the captain Mohammed Azharuddin. The result was that Azhar recommended that the squad does not need any cricket manager.
Then the great Kapil Dev came with a lot of expectations around him when he was appointed in 1999. However, a series of disastrous results at home and abroad, coupled with the match-fixing allegations ended Kapil’s tenure abruptly and paved the way for the first-ever foreign coach.
Greg Chappell was the other high pedigree player to coach India in 2005 and 2007. He was the mistake that current CAC member Sourav Ganguly referred to while making the decision this time in 2016. We all know how the Chappell era ended.
Hardworking Fighter
But maybe Kumble is cut from a different cloth because he has never had it easy, unlike the above mentioned names who were natural as cricketers. That may well be the quality of Kumble which may come in handy in his role as coach.
We will know in a year if BCCI was right in putting Kumble on notice from the start. Till then we can enjoy the fact that India’s last three Test captains-Kumble, MS Dhoni and Kohli will work together to make the squad number one across three formats.