Anil Kumble has said that he felt sorry for a few seniors like Sourav Ganguly and Brian Lara who remained unsold.“It is sad but that’s the reality, I think,” the former India captain, currently the chief-decision maker of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, said. “The situation is such that the franchises are looking at three years and not one year. So I don’t know what to say but I think that is the new reality.”
The Royal Challengers did not make a bid for Rahul Dravid, their former captain and an icon. “It is difficult to explain why we have bid for some players and why we did not bid for some. There are a lot of factions taken into account. Besides, in the sequence of events at the auction, some players get picked for high price and some don’t get picked. And some more are not bid.”
When specifically asked how the Royal Challengers have decided to spend on a player like Cheteshwar Pujara, not exactly known to be a big-hitter, the former team captain, said the young Saurashtra batsman benefitted from the sequence. “We need to have some young Indian batsman and so we made a bid for him.” On Dravid, he once again cited the example of sequence.
Kumble was seen giving constant advices to team owner Vijay Mallya but he did not see it as a major contribution from his side. “Everyone has come with preparations. My duty is to share my expertise, experience and opinion with him. It is up to them to accept it or not.” On his role with the team, he said it would be in the advisory capacity. He, however, clarified that he would not be the team coach.
So going by the developments of the day, did he think that he did right by pulling out of the auction? He shot back: “I did not pull out of the auction because of the fear of being not picked. I have a lot of other commitments. I’ve my administration with the Karnataka State Cricket Association (for which he is the president), I have my academy, I have my wildlife work. I have my plate full.”
