'End could've been better but no regrets' - Anil Kumble on his tenure as India's head coach

Former India cricketer Anil Kumble’s tenure as the head coach of the national team didn’t end on good terms. Reportedly, there were differences between him and skipper Virat Kohli even as the latter denied it ahead of the Champions Trophy in 2017. But Kumble resigned soon after the tournament citing ‘untenable differences’ with the captain as one of the reasons.

Moreover, in his resignation, he had mentioned that he was intimidated by the BCCI Kohli’s reservations with his style and about him continuing as the head coach. For the same reason, Anil Kumble decided to move on. However, he is happy with the time he spent with the team and is grateful that India did well under him.

Team India rose to the number 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings when he was the coach and also reached the final of the Champions Trophy only to lose to Pakistan. “I was very happy that I took up that role [India coach]. It was great, the one year I spent with the Indian team was really fantastic. Having been with great performers and again being a part of the Indian dressing room is a great feeling,” he said while speaking to Pommie Mbangwa in a live session.

Anil Kumble was happy to move on

However, Anil Kumble reckons his tenure as India head coach could’ve ended on a better note and not in the controversial way. But the 49-year-old has no regrets about it and is satisfied that there was some good improvement in the side from the time he joined.

“We did really well in that one year period. I was really happy that there were some contributions made and there are no regrets. I was happy moving on from there as well. I know the end could have been better but then that’s fine. As a coach, you realise, when it’s time to move on, it’s the coach who needs to move on. I was really happy I played a significant role in that one year,” he further added.

As far as his current assignment is concerned, Anil Kumble is the head coach of the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and is looking forward to the challenge.