Virat Kohli Lucky to Have Anil Kumble as Coach: Greg Chappell

As Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble take guard as captain and coach, former Indian coach Greg Chappell has said the path ahead will be full of challenges.

The Australian legend feels the success or failure of Kohli and Kumble will depend on the kind of support they get from the stakeholders of Indian cricket, which included players.

Writing for The Hindu, Chappell, who had an acrimonious tenure as Indian coach from 2005-2007, said Kohli's "robust self-belief" and Kumble's "indomitable spirit" is a heady combination that will serve Indian cricket well.

The Kohli-Kumble partnership starts with the a preparatory camp in Bangalore from Wednesday. India then embark on a tour of the West Indies where they will play four Tests over July-August.

'Kumble will be demanding'

"Kumble will demand nothing less than 100 per cent effort, but he will be generous to those who give of their best and fall short on occasions," wrote Chappell.

"Virat Kohli is lucky to have a man of Kumble's undoubted strengths as his ally. It will be a powerful partnership that I expect will serve India well.

"Kumble has been around long enough to know that the captain is the critical component of any cricket team and that the coach's role is to support the captain to take the load off him to allow for personal preparation time in the lead up to games, but then take a back-seat once the game begins," said Chappell.

Chappell Fell Foul With Sourav Ganguly

During his stint with India, Chappell fell foul with skipper Sourav Ganguly. Chappell had written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India saying Ganguly was "mentally and physically unfit" to lead the team. The Aussie also accused Ganguly of "negative attitude" and for "imaginary" injuries.

Chappell said Kohli and Kumble will need a lot of support from "key stake-holders" of Indian cricket to achieve good results. Managing the workload of the fast bowlers in a long home series will be critical, Chappell pointed out.

"It won't get any easier any time soon for India with the amount of Test cricket that they are committed to in the near future. To overcome this will take a huge commitment from all levels of cricket in India and will need to be supported by the administration," wrote Chappell.