New Delhi/Bangalore, Dec 13: BCCI and Anil Kumble were at loggerheads today over the exact reason for the former Indian captain's sudden resignation as the chairman of the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
While Kumble maintained that he quit the post as he did not want to be just a “figurehead” when none of his plans found support from other committee members, the BCCI questioned the former captain's claims.
It is learnt that a software programme to monitor the injury management of the players is the reason for the fallout, prompting Kumble to step down from the position barely 15 months after he took charge.
“Kumble's software proposal for injury management was found to be too costly. It was just not feasible. Kumble wanted a certain software company to handle the project”, a top BCCI source said.
It is also alleged that Kumble would have got a commission from the software company.
Sources said that Kumble had made a similar proposal through his company Tenvic a few months back for an estimated cost of about Rs 15 crore.
Kumble, 41, however said that his plans did not get the support from other committee members and he had no choice but to step down.
“I had a plan which didn't have much alignment with other committee members. I didn't want to be just a figurehead,” Kumble told reporters in Bangalore.
Asked why his plans didn't find support with others, Kumble said, “I don't know but I was very keen to contribute and even put together a proposal.”
Punjab Cricket Association's general secretary M P Pandove will be the caretaker chairman of the NCA till a full-time appointment is made.
Initially, “lack of time” was said to be the reason why Kumble stepped down as NCA chairman but later yesterday, the retired leg spinner told PTI that he was left with no other option.
“I had a three-year vision to make NCA a better academy. I had made 10 presentations during my tenure as chairman with the hope that my vision could be accepted. Even on Sunday I had discussed this at the NCA meeting in Chennai. But it was not in alignment with the rest of the committee,” Kumble said.
“I felt that it made no sense to be a chairman when I was not being heard. I had no other option but to move on in life,” he said.
Kumble is also the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, a mentor with the IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore and has his own company ‘Tenvic' which manages Karnataka players like R Vinay Kumar and Sreenath Aravind.
Interestingly, a few months back, there were reports of Kumble having ‘conflict of interest' being the KSCA president who also happens to own a company that manages some of Karnataka's top cricketers.
Kumble, who has captured 619 wickets in 132 Tests, is the third highest Test wicket-taker behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. In 271 one-dayers, he has taken 337 wickets.
