Indian cricket takes a 'Jumbo' leap of faith in Kumble

On Thursday morning, there were three men left standing in a race that had begun with 57 candidates. There was Ravi Shastri, who served as Team India's director for 18 months, and Australian Tom Moody, whose glittering resume includes a coaching stint with Sri Lanka and guiding Sunrisers Hyderabad to the 2016 Indian Premier League title.

And then there was Anil 'Jumbo' Kumble , the man once hailed by Sachin Tendulkar as India's greatest match-winner. Kumble joined the race for the job of India's cricket coach virtually at the eleventh hour, but his entry proved to be a game-changer.
As an undisputed great, there was no contesting Kumble's stature. However, his lack of coaching experience led to him not being included in the shortlist of 21 candidates submitted to the cricket advisory committee of Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman on June 21. But the panel - all of whom were part of India's 'golden generation' along with Kumble - asked for his name to be included anyway. At Kolkata, Kumble made a presentation on his vision for the future of Indian cricket, which is believed to have wowed his former team-mates. Given his reputation as a tech-savvy, articulate cricketer , that came as no surprise.

However, the committee did not indicate any preference while forwarding its list of three names to the BCCI bosses on Thursday. That's when board chief Anurag Thakur and BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke went into a huddle with the panel. According to sources in the know about the discussions, Kumble soon emerged as the leading candidate, with Ganguly and Thakur particularly vociferous in supporting him. Shastri was the second preference, with Tendulkar speaking about his contribution to Indian cricket as team director. However, after animated discussion, Sachin too cast his vote for Kumble and it became a unanimous choice.
Kumble is also understood to have enjoyed the support of a prominent, politically influential member of BCCI, who backed his candidature because of his "no-nonsense" reputation.
"Kumble emerged as the clear choice because of his cricketing experience. For this kind of job, experience on the field does matter a lot," a source close to the development told TOI.
Kumble's lack of experience led to his being offered only a one-year contract, but sources said he could be given an extension till the 2019 ODI World Cup if the team fares well under him.
"We can't speculate now. But if he does a good job, he will surely continue," a top BCCI official said.