'End could have been better': Kumble reflects on coaching India
Jul 23, 2020
New Delhi [India], July 23 : Former India spinner Anil Kumble has said that his coaching stint with the Indian senior side could have come to a better end.
Kumble opened up about his coaching stint during an Instagram live session with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa.
The spinner coached Virat Kohli-led side for one year before he resigned from the post in 2017.
He had stepped down as the coach of the side after the Champions Trophy 2017 finals between India and Pakistan.
"I was very happy that I took up the role of coach of the Indian side. It was great, the one year I spent with the Indian team was really fantastic. Having been with great performers and again being a part of the Indian dressing room is a great feeling," Kumble told Pommie Mbangwa during an Instagram live session.
"We did really well in that one year period. I was really happy that there were some contributions made and there are no regrets. I was happy moving on from there as well. I know the end could have been better but then that's fine. As a coach, you realise, when it's time to move on, it's the coach who needs to move on. I was really happy I played a significant role in that one year," he added.
When Kumble had resigned as the coach of the Indian side, he had termed the relationship with Virat Kohli as "untenable".
Under Kumble, India managed to reach the finals of the Champions Trophy, and the side enjoyed huge success in the Test format.
Kumble would now be coaching the Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The former Indian spinner had announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008 and finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.
He has the third-highest number of wickets in Tests, only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's Shane Warne (708).
