In his first few interactions with the media since taking over as India’s head coach, Anil Kumble has made one thing crystal clear. He is going to be a player’s coach. 

He also won’t be hogging the limelight. He will be a John Wright to Sourav Ganguly. He will be a Gary Kirsten to MS Dhoni. He won’t be a Greg Chappell.

And in his joint press conference with Virat Kohli ahead of India’s departure to West Indies, he spoke about the matter that has been on the minds of lot of Indian fans. How will he handle the dynamic captain’s oft-criticised aggression?

And his response reposes the cricket community’s faith that Indian cricket is in safe hands with Jumbo.

I love his aggression. I was also no different as I was very aggressive. But we were probably very different in terms of how we came across in the field. But you don’t want to curb aggression. I will be the last person to curb someone’s natural instincts.

If you are thinking that is not much different from what Ravi Shastri used to say during him time as the team director, Kumble went on to add a bit of clarity to what he said:

But we all know how important it is to be ambassadors of India and part of the Indian cricket team. That everybody understands. We will ensure there is a thin line and I hope everybody knows that. I won’t certainly curb anyone’s natural instincts.

He went on to talk about India’s approach to the West Indies tour:

“As a coach, you want the team to win and prepare them to the best of their ability. To ensure that all areas are covered. Skill-wise as well as strategy wise so that they are able to assess any situation and find a solution on their own. Good part is that we are playing a lot of Test cricket and we will be able to assess the shortcomings if any and try to plug that. We will be playing 17 Tests, starting with West Indies and then New Zealand, England and Australia at home.
“The goal is to remain consistent and win as many matches as you don’t go into a match thinking that you cannot win it.”

Kumble also assured that off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s injury on his right arm was “not very serious” although it is being monitored by the physio.

(With PTI inputs)

Featured image: PTI