Kumble quits as India head coach after final defeat

Anil Kumble has stepped down as head coach of India just three days before their limited-overs tour of the Caribbean gets under way.

The 46-year-old, who took on the role 12 months ago, led India to the final of the Champions Trophy, where they were defeated by fierce rivals Pakistan at The Oval.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India had invited applications for the head coach role last month, but were also hoping to renew Kumble’s one-year contract.

However, former India captain Kumble has now told the governing body he no longer wished to be considered for the position.

India are set to play a five-match one-day series, which starts with an ODI against West Indies in Port of Spain on 23 June, and also a T20 fixture while in the Caribbean.

A statement from the BCCI read: “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCC) confirms that Mr Anil Kumble has withdrawn his services as the post of the head coach for the senior India men’s team.

“While the Cricket Advisory Committee had endorsed an extension to his tenure as head coach, Mr Anil Kumble has decided not to continue as the coach.”

The BCCI confirmed MV Sridhar, the general manager for cricket operations, would now step in to “supervise the team management for the West Indies tour”, while Sanjay Bangar and Ramakrishnan Sridhar were to continue their roles as batting and fielding coach respectively.

Kumble had guided India to 12 victories from 17 Test matches with just one defeat, but there had been reports of a fall-out with captain Virat Kohli, who denied any discord prior to the start of the Champions Trophy.

Acting secretary of the BCCI Amitabh Choudhary said: “Indian cricket needs his [Kumble’s] continued contribution in various capacities and wishes him all the best in his future endeavour.”