Kumble will remain coach for WI tour, says CoA head Vinod Rai

Anil Kumble will remain India's coach for the tour of West Indies subject to his acceptance, Committee of Administrators (CoA) chairman Vinod Rai said today, insisting that only the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) will decide the next head coach. "Coach selection has been entrusted to the CAC which selected Anil Kumble last year for a one-year contract. Now the process has to be followed. But since the process has been delayed, Kumble, subject to his accepting, will be there for the West Indies tour," Rai told reporters after a meeting of the COA here.

"The CAC is meeting in London to decide upon the road ahead," he added. India will tour the West Indies for a five-ODI series starting June 23 followed by a lone Twenty20 match on July 9. The COA, now a three-member panel after the controversial exit of historian Ramachandra Guha, had a day long meeting here. 

Asked whether coach recruitment could have been handled better by the BCCI, Rai said the matter has been blown out of proportion with reports claiming a rift between captain Virat Kohi



and Kumble. "The fact is that it was a one year contract so a process was followed. I don't know why is this controversy. I have spoken to both of them (Kohli and Kumble)and neither of them have confirmed what has come out," he said.

The CAC -- comprising Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly -- is currently in London and is in touch with both the captain and the coach on the sidelines of the ongoing Champions Trophy. The CAC, which is in favour of retaining Kumble, has sought more time ahead of the BCCI SGM on June 26. "We have left it to the CAC, they are legends, they know what is best for Indian cricket," said Rai, who also rubbished a report claiming that CAC has asked to be paid for the honorary job.

Guha, in his scathing resignation letter, had lashed out at the BCCI's functioning besides alleging conflict of interest in the case of Rahul Dravid who is India A coach and also a mentor of the Delhi Daredevils IPL franchise. The former batsman had sought more clarity on the subject so that he can take an informed decision.