Live: New Indian Cricket Team coach announcement highlights and best Twitter reactions; Anil Kumble has been selected as next head coach
6:50 pm: Throwback to the time when Anil Kumble showed great resilience as he continued to bowl with a broken jaw against West Indies in 2002. He will now be joining the Indian coaching contingency from a series against West Indies
6:45 pm:
6:40 pm: We take feedback from everyone, including media. This game is followed by millions: Anurag Thakur. He also added that there will be no conflict of interest before Anil Kumble takes up the role
6:36 pm: The enthusiasm is evident.
6:31 pm: Kumble will be now transforming himself from a great cricketer to coach, and that’s why he has been appointed for an year as of now: BCCI
6:27 pm: Anurag Thakur denied revealing names of other candidates running for Indian Coach. Kumble will start his duties as coach for India at the beginning of India’s tour to West Indies. On why Ravi Shastri was not given the chance to continue, Thakur replied Shastri's performance has been great. BCCI has been happy with it.
Read more: Anil Kumble: A profile of team India's new head coach
6:25 pm: We are glad to say that BCCI has been very transparent as far as selection of Head coach is concerned: Anurag Thakur, BCCI President
6:20 pm: Anurag Thakur says,”Anil Kumble has been a great player for India. He has great records in his name. He has won numerous matches for India.” Anil Kumble has been appointed as coach for the Indian Cricket team. The decided term for the appointment is one year.
6:17 pm: Spare a thought
6:10 pm: That might be an extreme reaction.
JUST IN: Anil Kumble announced as cricket coach for Team India.
5:52 pm: There are some fears that should be kept to oneself.
5:35 pm: The anticipation increases with the announcement due any second now. Hopefully, we are not in for some nasty, unexpected surprise though chances of that happening are highly unlikely.
5:20 pm: Anil Kumble has already begun trending on Twitter. A sign of things to come, maybe? Needless to say, speculations are rife among people who are following the developments closely. There has been no official announcement yet.
5:10 pm: We are now minutes away from the official announcement and our patience is being put to a severe test, it seems.
4:55 pm: Under Ravi Shastri, India has reached the semi-finals of the 2015 ICC World Cup and the 2016 World T20I.
4:50 pm: Another section of enthusiasts, however, just want to make the world laugh.
4:45 pm: Some people seem to have a very specific set of priorities.
4:40 pm: Speaking on Kolkata on Tuesday, one of the selectors Sourav Ganguly said,””I once had an opportunity to select the coach. I thought I messed it up in 2005." Though he refrained from explicitly mentioning any names, it is quite clear that this jibe was directed at former coach, Greg Chappell. However, the then BCCI Chief, Ranbir Singh Mahendra has since insisted that he holds no regrets for the decisions he took in his term.
Also read: Anil Kumble, Ravi Shastri interviewed for India coach post; Sandeep Patil doesn't appear
4:35 pm: Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke are to address a press conference at Dharamsala from 17:00 IST.
4:24 pm: It seems congratulations have already started pouring in for Anil Kumble. The official announcement is set for 17:00 IST today.
4:12 pm: Different opinions from the average Indian cricket enthusiast coming in.
3:45 pm: As things stand now, Anil Kumble is set to be the coach for the Indian Cricket team with Ravi Shastri to be named as batting coach.
3:40 pm: In the past, Anil Kumble has never retained an official position long enough to get used to tackling the challenges a mentor or a leader might face. In 2011, he abruptly resigned from the post of the Chairman of the National Cricket Academy. “A conflict of interest” was cited as the main reason for his resignation. As a mentor to IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore, he quit his post in 2013 to join the Mumbai Indians. He resigned from this in 2015.
3:26 pm: Ravi Shastri stepped into the gauntlet for India after a period of poor form by the team. His first endeavour as the Director of the Indian Cricket team came during India’s tour of England in September 2014. The team seems to have considerably improved under him. Does this give him an advantage?
3:16 pm: The debate continues as experienced cricket correspondents seem to lean towards Ravi Shastri.
3:10 pm: Before Kumble entered the race, the 54-year-old former Director for the Indian cricket team was all set for a landslide verdict in his favour. The former Indian all-rounder has the firm backing of Virat Kohli
2:56 pm: The board, however, was not quick to affirm that the decision of the committee would be the final one. When asked, their response was, “"The working committee is the highest body of the BCCI and it has the power to seek clarification and ask for reconsideration."
2:49 pm: At the end of interviews, when Ganguly was asked then whether the captain had a say in the process, he said his panel wasn't required to speak to the players. "We're not going to consult the players, for the committee has been given the responsibility," he said.
2:38 pm: Former India coach, Madan Lal told Cricbuzz in an interview regarding his opinions on the appointment,”"It should be a top priority for the new coach that he has a blueprint to to make India win consistently away from home,"
2:26 pm:
2:20 pm: To recap, Anil Kumble was initially not shortlisted as a potential candidate for the post. The Karnataka spin-bowler was left out due to lack of experience in coaching, The Indian Express reports.
2:08 pm: The conclave could not have been organised at a more serene or peaceful location. We hope the process yields hopeful results.
2:05 pm: Current batting sensation and Test captain for India, Virat Kohli has repeatedly expressed gratitude to Ravi Shastri saying that he really matured as a player under his guidance.
1:59 pm: Former captain of India Anil Kumble has represented India in 132 Tests and 271 ODIs.
1:50 pm:
The final leg of the decision for the appointment of the coach for Indian cricket is underway at Dharamsala today. The selection committee comprises of eminent former players like Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, and VVS Laxman.
The entire process has been alive with speculations as to who is the best person for the job. Till yesterday, two contenders for the job seemed to have the strongest advantages.
Both Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri are expected to bring something new to the job on their selection. The committee had arrived at a decision early Thursday morning according to Sourav Ganguly.
Also Read: Anil Kumble front-runner to land India coach job
Former captain Anil Kumble with ex-cricketers Pravin Amre and Lalchand Rajput had presented their respective strategies in front of the selection panel earlier. Former India team director Ravi Shastri, however, was interviewed via video conference from London.
Current players have been offering their own opinions on what they should want their new coach to be. Skipper MS Dhoni stated that it should be a person who understands Indian culture even if he is not an India. This appointment is highly anticipated and has attracted a lot of attention from the international cricketing world at large.
It had earlier emerged that the BCCI was paying close attention to the opinions and suggestions of Virat Kohli when it came to announcing the final candidate for the job. The Board has since denied it. on Wednesday morning, it seemed that Anil Kumble would easily win by a huge margin but Shastri seems to have caught up since then. In fact, unconfirmed reports suggest that he is actually leading the race at present.
An initial list of 51 candidates was first shortlisted to 21 for the panel to consider. It is interesting to note that Anil Kumble was not initially a part of this shortened list. He was later handpicked by the committee of selectors.
Doubtful speculations about Kumble’s lack of experience remain. The final decision remains to be seen.