Kumble’s success as Coach depends on how he handles Kohli’s ‘aggressive approach’ : Anil Kumble has taken on the toughest job in the cricketing circle. He has been appointed as the Coach of Team India.

Well, Kumble’s contribution as a player needs no deliberation and its no secret either.

However, not all good players can go on to become a good coach. There have been exceptions with the likes of Gary Kirsten coaching Team India and also leading them to win the coveted ICC ODI World Cup in 2011 after a gap of 28 years.

At a time when stars ‘call it quits’ from the playing arena, they want to make up for the time lost, not spending much of them with family, due to hectic schedules and travels, and end up taking less pressure jobs like being inside the comforts of the commentary box.

However, Kumble has opted for the grind.

He definitely starts off with an advantage. The team is young, vibrant and is in the transition stage. There are no stars or superstars nearing completion of their career. So it would be that much easy to communicate and pass on his thoughts to the players.

The second factor that works in favour of Kumble is his nationality. He is aware of the ‘Indian-ness’, be it the language, culture, practices, preferences, priorities etc.

Kumble has been successful in leading the team as skipper, and clearly know what it takes to win under different situations and circumstances. He has himself handled pressure, controversies and had come out unscathed. He also enjoys a great respect from the players, thanks to his personal achievements.

There is, however, a factor which he needs to handle and that is the ‘aggressive approach’ of the Indian Test captain Virat Kohli.

Kohli is known to be moving around with a ‘killer instinct’ and would exercise no compromise on his aggressive approach, all in the interest of winning games.

Having played under great coaches like John Wright, Greg Chappell, Gary Kirsten etc, Kumble told bcci.tv, “I played a lot under John Wright, he”s been a great influence on how I”ll go about (the role of coach), in terms of being in the background. When I became a mentor for Mumbai Indians, I brought John in because he understood a lot about Indian culture and then the way coaches work. So I”ll pick his brain.”

“I was involved with Gary Kirsten only for the Test matches, a very short period. He was, again, someone who worked in the background and didn”t make himself visible. Exactly how I”d like to work as well. Not in the front, but behind the scenes.”

Kumble has been appointed for just one year. It may be too short to really make an impact but it would be interesting to see how things shape up and also to have a clear idea, the kind of respect and reception that an Indian coach receives from Team India.