Indian legend cricketer Anil Kumble is the newly appointed Kings XI Punjab’s director of cricket operations and coach. The former cricketer has taken the duty of Indian coach earlier but resigned from the post due to conflict with the skipper Virat Kohli.
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), the franchise without a title, will hope a better guide from the former cricketer. Kumble was the part of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) as a mentor. He has experience with both the team which will help KXIP.
Anil Kumble shares that he had good experience with both the franchise. He is sure that his experience would benefit him as a coach.
“With RCB we did not win the title but we came close a couple of times. With Mumbai, we had wonderful success those three years I was there. It is nice to have the experience of crossing the line. It certainly helps (you as a coach),” Kumble told PTI on Wednesday.
Anil Kumble shares his experience as an Indian coach
He served as an Indian head coach for a very short period. Kumble shares his experience and the lesson it learnt during the period.
“It is all about a game of cricket at the end of it. If you simplify like that the job becomes a lot easier. The moment you start putting importance to results wins, trophies then it puts more pressure on the players. So the learning is just to back off and help the players relax and when they are relaxed they tend to perform better.”
Kumble had earlier represented Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for three seasons, between 2008 and 2010, collecting a total of 45 wickets at an average of 23.51. He opines that being a player and coach is a different task. The strategy changes and being a coach is a different journey.
“You learn from the previous experiences you have had as a player, as a coach but IPL is a rollercoaster ride. You need to be patient and then back the players you have.”