MS Dhoni might have retired from international cricket last month, but Anil Kumble reckons the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper will give his "100 per cent" in the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).
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"Knowing MS, he will give his 100 percent. Even when I played the IPL, the second season, I had retired from international cricket," he said while speaking to the media from Dubai on Tuesday (September 8).
Kumble, who is the head coach of Kings XI Punjab in this year’s IPL, further added that he would like to see more Indian coaches in the cash-rich tournament.
Apart from KXIP, the other seven franchises have non-Indian head coaches, namely Ricky Ponting (Delhi Capitals), Brendon McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders), Stephen Fleming (Chennai Super Kings), Mahela Jayawardena (Mumbai Indians), Trevor Bayliss (SunRisers Hyderabad), Simon Katich (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Andrew McDonald (Rajasthan Royals).
"I would like to see more Indian coaches in the IPL. It is not a true reflection of the Indian resources. I would want to see many Indians being part of the IPL as head coaches," Kumble remarked.
"It is a bit of an irony – one Indian as head coach. I think at some point of time there will be a lot more Indian coaches," he added.
KXIP, who have never lifted the IPL trophy, are aiming to go all the way this time with a strong squad in their ranks. Picking the best Indian players in the playing XI will be tough but it seems opting the four overseas recruits will be tougher as they are spoilt for choice.
Asked if 40-year-old Chris Gayle will continue to play the majority of games like he did in the past two seasons, Kumble replied: “Chris has a major role even as player and even otherwise. His leadership, his experience, the youngsters look up to him. It is not just Chris the batsman we are looking at but Chris in a leadership role in terms of his contribution to developing young players. I want him to be active on the mentorship role.”
The likes of Glenn Maxwell, Chris Jordan, Jimmy Neesham, the in-form Nicholas Pooran, Mujeeb Zadran, Hardus Viljoen and Sheldon Cottrell are the other overseas players in KXIP’s squad.
The coach said that a few practise games will give him an idea about the team combination.
"Not just foreign players picking Indian players will be a challenge. We have a few practise games that will we will tell us (the best combination)," Kumble stated.
(With PTI inputs)
