MUMBAI: Within 12 days of being the coach for the Indian Cricket Team, Anil has already grabbed plenty of headlines with what he has said and done since his appointment. The newly crowned head coach has now indulged with his fans with an interactive Q&A session on Twitter.
Kumble answered questions from serious ones related to the team to personal ones. He opened up talking about why he is nicknamed Jumbo, whether we will see him with a camera in the West Indies, what he thinks about Ravindra Jadeja and what his greatest challenge will be on coach of India.
He answered the questions in a series of short personalised 30 second video responses , where he is quoted as saying “Navjot Singh Sidhu is the reason I got the name Jumbo. I once bowled a ball, that took off and he screamed ‘Jumbo-jet’, the Jet was lost but I have been called Jumbo ever since. On his greatest challenge as Indian cricket coach he said, “Consistency. It’s not going to be easy. We are playing 17 Tests in the next calendar year. It will be a challenge to keep them fresh and fit over the next year.”
Twitter India head of sports partnership Aneesh Madani commented, "Nine out of ten Twitter users in India are cricket fans, and Twitter is the best place for them to wake up to the sport and connect with their heroes. This was a historic moment as BCCI made the first ever Twitter Q&A by a Team India Head Coach happen today with #AskTheCoach. In this #OnlyOnTwitter moment, Anil Kumble gave fans exclusive glimpses into his life through the Twitter Q&A app, bringing fans closer and setting a new benchmark for interaction".
He also admitted that Day/Night test match is the way forward.
"I would certainly back Day/Night (Test) cricket. Anything we need to do to get crowd back to Test cricket... At least that is the future. In Day/Night matches, people can come into the stadium after office hours," replied Kumble.
Kumble termed Virat Kohli as a "fantastic batsman and leader" and he is excited to work with him. "I am really excited to work with Virat. I have seen him as U-19 at the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He has matured a lot in last couple of years. He is a fantastic batsman and leader. He is really aggressive and so was I. I am really looking forward towards working with him."
Answering one of the quesries, he also mentioned that he expects Ravindra Jadeja to do well as the wickets in the Caribbean will suit his style of bowling. He did not forget to mention that he expects good things from all-rounder Jadeja.
"Jadeja is a wonderful all-rounder. I had a chat with him about his bowling. I think with his bowling, he can do a great job and be effective in West Indies conditions, which is pretty similar to Indian conditions. I have also spoken to him about his batting ability as he can score a lot of runs. I am looking forward to Jadeja doing a great job not only as a bowler but also as batsman," said the former India captain.
