03:07
We’ve moved on from DRS incident – Kumble
Anil Kumble, India’s head coach, has said he is happy India and Australia have agreed to move on from the DRS-related controversy that flared up in the aftermath of the Bengaluru Test match. He also confirmed that the two captains, Virat Kohli and Steven Smith, would meet match referee Richie Richardson before the start of the Ranchi Test.
“I think what was important was to bring the focus back on cricket and I am really glad that the BCCI took a mature call along with Cricket Australia to issue a joint statement that cricket needs to move on and we have moved on from whatever happened in that background,” Kumble said on Tuesday, two days before the third Test in Ranchi.
“That’s really important because focus obviously has to be on the game, and I thought we made a fantastic comeback after losing the first Test, especially day two and day three (of the second Test); they (Australia) were ahead and to come back from there and win a Test match was rewarding.”
M Vijay missed the second Test match with a shoulder injury – it turned out that the opener had been carrying it since the first Test in Pune, but neither Kumble nor Kohli had mentioned it in the lead-up to the game when asked about the fitness of their players. Now, asked if Vijay was fit to play in Ranchi, Kumble said he was “fine”.
“Yeah, he’s fine,” Kumble said. “He is a part of the squad, so he is good.”
Ranchi will be the 12th Test of India’s home season – which began soon after a four-Test tour of the West Indies – and Kumble was pleased with the way his players had coped with the physical and mental challenges of playing so many games in a relatively short span of time.
“I think they have responded really well,” he said. “It’s been a long season, not easy playing 17 Test matches on the trot. Back to back, especially for the bowling unit. And of course the batsmen, it takes its own toll.
“Touch wood we have had very little injuries – of course (Mohammed) Shami is injured as a bowler and he is coming back. So we had some injuries but they have responded well to the challenges that have come about. Lots of overs under the belt and that’s something that obviously augurs well. If you are winning constantly and keep performing the way we have been performing at home that helps. That’s been the hallmark.
“You can’t point to just one individual in the whole season that has given us these results. I think every individual has stood up and the captain had led from the front. So it’s really nice and augurs well that each individual has contributed to the success.
“We would like to finish the last two Test matches in a very good way, and I am sure it will be something that we will be cherishing at the end of the season.”
Kumble praised his bowlers for the intensity they have shown through the season, particularly on day two in Bengaluru, which he called a “fantastic day of Test cricket”.
‘He may not have a five-wicket haul but every time he has bowled, he has looked like he would pick up a five-for’ – Anil Kumble on Umesh Yadav © AFP
“I thought day two was a fantastic day of Test cricket. It was attritional. Only 190 [197] runs were scored in the entire day and we picked up six wickets. But the intensity all the four bowlers bowled with, especially the fast bowlers … It was brilliant. And I think that resulted in the win.
“It showed the character and that’s what you want to see in a team… You want to see a lot of character and lot of pride in the way we go about doing things and coming back and winning a Test match.”
With Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami missing chunks of the home season with injuries, Umesh Yadav has bowled the most overs – 284.5, with Shami a distant second at 178.1 – among all of India’s fast bowlers in 2016-17. Though his returns – 22 wickets at 39.22 – have not been proportionate to his efforts, Kumble was pleased with Umesh’s bowling through the season. He also hailed Ravindra Jadeja for drawing level with his spin partner R Ashwin at the top of the ICC Test bowlers’ rankings.
“We have seen certainly seen what Umesh is capable of.” Kumble said. “Although he doesn’t have the kind of wickets that you would expect, the way he has bowled and the way he has given us those breakthroughs – he may not have a five-wicket haul but every time he has bowled, he has looked like he would pick up a five-for. And that’s the kind of maturity and improvement Umesh has shown.
“Yes, the chunk of the wickets have been to the spinners, and I am glad that Ashwin will always be spoken about, but I am really glad that Jadeja has come up and done what he is capable of. Really glad that both of them are currently on top of the ICC rankings.”
When asked if the pitch in Ranchi – which has been at the centre of speculation, particularly in the Australian media – would produce a contest lasting five days, Kumble said he didn’t know.
“I don’t know. We only hope we will win,” he said. “How many days the Test will last I wouldn’t know. But I only hope there will be a result and it will be in our favour.”
Kumble brushed aside reports in the Indian media that suggested the BCCI was looking to appoint him director of cricket and hand over the head coach role to Rahul Dravid.
“I have also heard from the media, it is news to me, from the media,” he said. “There is nothing else, no one has spoken about it.”
Karthik Krishnaswamy is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo