India’s first ODI captain and former coach of the Indian cricket team, Ajit Wadekar has said despite the untenable relation between Anil Kumble and Indian skipper Virat Kohli, he would prefer Kumble for the job as the Head Coach of Indian cricket team,
“I will still prefer Anil for this job. Let’s have a look at India’s performances in the past one year. The statistics itself give the answers. India’s domination in the past one year is commendable in Kumble’s reign. So, we must respect that,” Wadekar told NDTV said.
Having already known that Kumble will not come back to old fore, Wadekar further added that if not Kumble, he would prefer Virender Sehwag, who is also the frontrunner for the job.
“If not Anil Kumble, then Virender Sehwag is the best option India can have. He has an attacking style approach towards the game and it will be good for India. But, if you ask me as a Kumble’s successor, it should be Sehwag,” he added.
There is a reason behind Sehwag being the frontrunner for the job, as it has come to notice that Sehwag was asked by skipper Virat Kohli himself to go for the coveted job as the former Under-19 captain shares a good relationship with the swashbuckler, who both have represented Delhi together in domestic cricket.
In fact, Kohli, who last played a domestic game in the year 2013, was the captain of the side which also had Virender Sehwag as one of the players. Gautam Gambhir was also there in the team as well. Surely, there is a good rapport between Sehwag and Kohli, as both have represented the same state before Sehwag left for Haryana for one season.
Further, talking about Kumble’s performance as the coach of the side, Wadekar heaped praises him on him and called him the nicest person in the team, recalling his days as the coach of the Indian team,
“When I was the coach of the Indian team, Anil Kumble was there. He was one of the nicest persons in the team. He was well educated, sincere and mad about his game. The only thing he focussed on – victory. I am amazed after his resignation. I have seen Kumble sweating it out on a particular delivery during the net sessions. He wanted perfection in everything. Jumbo is a real gem. I really don’t understand why a captain like Virat Kohli has gone to such extent. Kumble is the best man to handle Team India right now,” Wadekar said.
Meanwhile, team Indian team is all set to take on West Indies in the limited over series sans a Head Coach. The number one Test side will get its new Head Coach before the Sri Lanka series, Rajeev Shukla has confirmed.
As said, Virender Sehwag is leading the race to become the next Head Coach of the team but nothing can be said, as reportedly, BCCI has approached Ravi Shastri for the job, who is known to be one of the closest people to Virat Kohli. Though Shastri has put a condition, as he will only put his hat in the ring if assured a seat in the backroom staff.