Anil Kumble Was Not BCCI's First Choice For India Coach
Anil Kumble's appointment as the new coach of the Indian cricket team has come in for a lot of praise from cricket fans and experts alike. But did you know that Kumble wasn't BCCI's first choice? Instead it was one of Kumble's former teammates who was on top of BCCI's wish-list.
Highlights
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Anil Kumble has been appointed India head coach for one year by BCCI
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Earlier, BCCI boss Anurag Thakur approached Rahul Dravid for the post
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Dravid, India U-19 coach, declined the offer as he wanted shorter stint
Anil Kumble may have become the third Indian captain to be appointed coach of the national team, but if things had gone BCCI's way, it could very easily have been another former India captain who could have got the top job.
"I requested Rahul Dravid to coach the Indian team. He didn't say no, but said that he will work for the junior team", revealed BCCI president Anurag Thakur.
Speaking to NDTV on the eve of announcing India's new coach Thakur added, "That is the good thing about Dravid, he didn't go for the senior team post, big money and all. He wanted to work for the junior cricketers and not the senior team"
Three months ago, when NDTV had asked Dravid whether he would ever be open to coaching the Indian team, he had said, "I can only do short-term assignments, I can't stay away from home for long periods of time, short assignments suit me better."
Not surprisingly, last year too Rahul Dravid had declined to join the advisory committee comprising of Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, reportedly because of other commitments.
But despite 'The Wall' turning down BCCI's coaching offer, the fourth highest run scorer in Tests remains a fan favourite, as was evident in a poll conducted on sports.ndtv.com last week, where an overwhelming majority (62 per cent) of the three thousand respondents wanted Dravid to take over the reigns of the Indian cricket team.