Anil Kumble had too grand a plan

Anil Kumble has said he did not want to be just a “figurehead” of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) after he failed to get enough support for his recommendations. Many of his ideas were shot down by the committee members, the latest being a plan to monitor the NCA players.

It is reliably learnt that Kumble’s proposed plan to monitor players from the Bangalore-based academy was shot down at the NCA committee meeting in Chennai on Sunday. The cost of the plan, it was learnt, was about Rs 10 crore which Kumble wanted implemented in collaboration with Infosys. It was a software programme but there were not many takers for it at the meeting.

Kumble, it is understood, was bombarded with questions about the efficacy of the programme. Kumble had made a presentation but, if a few members present at the meeting were to be believed, he was not convincing in his reply to their doubts. There was also resentment among the members that he had booked his flight in about two hours from the start of the meeting. “The meeting was scheduled for 11.30 am and he had his flight booked for 1.40 pm. Besides, there were clear doubts about the effectiveness of his suggestions,” said a member present at the meeting.

No wonder, he said there was no alignment with the members of the committee. “I had a three-year vision, a holistic approach for the NCA that was not in alignment with that of the rest of the committee,” Kumble said. “I felt that it made no sense to be a chairman when I was not being heard. I had no other option but to move on in life,” he added.

Although the BCCI has appointed MP Pandove as the interim head of the NCA, the premier academy is beset with troubles.  Its vice-chairman Ranjib Biswal has also not been attending meetings for reasons best known to him.