BCCI has named former India skipper Anil Kumble as the new head coach for the next one year, bringing an end to the prolonged suspense over who will take over the reins of the side. Here are a few facts you must know about Kumble.
♦ Anil Kumble made his Test debut against England in 1990.
♦ Kumble is the highest wicket-taker for India till date and third in the international list behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.
♦ Kumble finished his Test career with 619 scalps and accumulated 337 ODI wickets which put his combined tally at 956 in two formats. The leg-spinner was the only bowler after England's Jim Laker to have taken all 10 wickets in a Test innings.
♦ The former leg-spinner played 132 Test matches and 271 ODIs in a career spanning close to two decades.
♦ He was appointed Test captain in November 2007 and led India in 14 matches, winning three, losing five and drawing six.
♦ After his retirement, Kumble was elected president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association in November 2010. He also served as chairman of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore and headed the BCCI's technical committee from 2012 to 2015.
♦ The 45-year-old Kumble is the first Indian to be appointed full-time India coach since Kapil Dev resigned in September 2000. He will succeed Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher, whose term ended in March 2015 after the 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
♦ Kumble pipped former Team Director Ravi Shastri, Australians Tom Moody and Stuart Law and a host of others to clinch the high-profile position following an elaborate selection process headed by a three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC).
♦ Though Kumble has no experience in coaching in the international arena, his stint as a mentor with IPL teams such as Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians as well as his vast experience as an international cricketer may help him in his new innings.
♦ Kumble's first assignment with the team will be the four-match Test tour to the West Indies next month.
(With inputs from agencies)
