Heartening to see spinners play a major role in other teams: Anil Kumble

Indian cricket team head coach Anil Kumble lamented that the team has not asked for a rank turners in the Test series starting on Wednesday.

He rubbished the speculation that the team has asked for rank turners and said that the team is not demanding anything. “It is the first match of the home series, I knew the first question would be about the pitch and also the last question,” said Kumble.

He added, “Nobody is demanding anything. We will go into the game thinking that our spinners are better. We hope the performance we produced in the West Indies continues at home as well. Yes, there will be spin and opinions will be formed after the first ball. But since I am the coach, I can’t think like that. We make our plans as the game goes on.”

The Indian coach pointed out that the visitors are a strong side even in overseas tours and the Indian team is very much aware of the threat offered by their spin department. “New Zealand have always done really well. They are not just good at home, they tour really well. The fact that they have three spinners (each being different from another), yes we watched them, at least I watched the two spinners out of three in T20 World Cup where they played a significant role in the team.”

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Being one of the most successful spinner in the cricket history, he said that it is heartening to see spinners play a major role in other teams. “Heartening to see spinners play a major role in other teams and not just the Indian team. We respect the opponents, not just in the spin department but in all departments. They have different spin variations, which you don’t see often in a foreign team.”

The first Test match of the series will be played at Kanpur and speaking about the wicket he said, “According to me, it is a typical Kanpur wicket. It is the start of the season, it has rained a lot and the surface has not been used much of late. It is looking good. Having said that, I believe that the talk should be about cricket that is played on the pitch and not the pitch. In the team meetings, we have discussed this only. Whatever wicket we get, we will adapt and play,”.

The 45-year old said that despite India having the home advantage, the conditions are no longer unfamiliar for the Kiwis as most of their players have been participating in the Indian Premier League.

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“The home team certainly has the advantage in these conditions but for a foreign team, the conditions are no longer alien. Most of the New Zealand players have played in the IPL, so they know what to expect and how to adapt,” Kumble stated.

Focussing on this match for now:

India is heading towards a big home season where India plays as many as 13 Test matches. However, he said that the current focus is on the match in hand.

“You would notice as the series goes along, there will be less time spent in between matches on the cricket field. So whatever we need to address, we will only address those issues. This is like the second summer in India, just before the winter sets in. We are looking at six months but from a team’s perspective, we are focussing on this match for now,” he said.

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Modern day cricketers struggle after doing well initially:

Adapting to the different formats are nowadays are one of the biggest challenges along with adapting to the pitch and conditions. He feels that the modern day  cricketers struggle after doing well initially in their career.

“It is quite challenging for the modern day cricketer to keep changing formats. Invariably, when you are playing in the shorter format, the game is always in favour of the batsmen. When it comes to Tests, irrespective of the conditions, we have seen modern day cricketers struggle after doing well initially.”

“For example, they were good players of seam bowling in the previous year but they struggled on a seaming track (the following season) because of what the modern day batsman encounters,” he explained.

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India is coming into the series on the back of a Test series win against West Indies as India beat the home side 2-0. “One good thing we have had is that we are coming off a Test series and getting into a Test series. In terms of preparation, we have spent a lot of time on how to play spinners, how to respond to playing spinners. We will only improve,” felt Kumble.

India’s 500th Test match:

The Kanpur Test will be India’s 500th Test in the format. Kumble said it was a great milestone. “For me, part of the Indian team was special and a great honour. Starting from 1932 till today, there have been great players who have contributed this great legacy of 499 Tests. Each of them has looked to raise the bar and this team is no different. All of us should celebrate this milestone and recollect the memories provided by the former players.

“Want not only want to win this Test but also the series,” Kumble concluded on a positive note.