Kumble quits as National Cricket Academy chairman
NCA panel members fail to agree with ex-captain’s vision and plans
Anil Kumble’s decision to quit on Monday as chairman of the National Cricket Academy has stemmed from a lack of alignment of vision with the rest of the NCA committee.
The former India captain had been appointed chairman of the NCA in September 2010 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, replacing Ravi Shastri at the helm of the feeder route to the national team.
Kumble has had a vision for what the Academy must stand for, and has made numerous presentations over the last 15 months outlining his plans for the Academy. “I had a three-year vision and plan in place for the NCA, but my vision and my ideas did not align with the rest of the (NCA) committee,” Kumble told Deccan Herald on Monday night. “I didn’t just want to be a figurehead, I want to get things done. Since my vision and that of the rest were not in accordance with each other, I decided to tender my resignation.”
The NCA Board had met in Chennai on Sunday morning when India’s highest wicket-taker made a last-ditch presentation, it is learnt, on what he believed was the way forward for the Academy, which has largely served as a rehabilitation centre. With a majority of the rest of the Board not buying into his line of thinking, Kumble decided Monday’s Working Committee meeting in the national capital was the right forum for him to tender his resignation.
Interestingly enough, the NCA Board has no one apart from Kumble who has had any experience of international cricket at the highest level. The other members of the Board are vice-chairman Ranjib Biswal, who led India at the under-19 level but didn’t graduate to the senior ranks, Anirudh Chaudhry, TC Mathew, Rakesh Parikh and Gyanendra Pandey. Punjab Cricket Association general secretary MP Pandove, who is the chairman of the Specialised Academies Committee, has been appointed caretaker chairman of the NCA until a full-time appointment is made.
Kumble’s ‘lack of alignment of vision’ reason should effectively put an end to speculations that he stepped down as NCA chairman owing to the alleged ‘conflict of interest’ topic raised a couple of months back, or that he didn’t have enough time to balance his various roles, which include being president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association.
