Anil Kumble the player was a fighter; will do a great job as India coach: Glenn McGrath

Newly-appointed India head coach Anil Kumble elicited praise from Glenn McGrath, who described him as a “fighter as a player” and that he would do well in the new job. According to  a report in The Times of India, the Australian pace legend, who holds the record for most Test wickets among fast bowlers with 563 scalps, added that a coach has to be “a good man-manager”, and believed that the former Indian leg-spinner had what it took to become one. [caption id=“attachment_2852598” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Anil Kumble. Reuters[/caption] “I think Anil has been there for a long time in the game, and I am sure he would do a very good job as coach of the Indian team. “I haven’t seen him as a coach, but as a player Anil was a fighter who wouldn’t give an inch, and he would take the same attitude into his coaching as well,” McGrath said in the report. Kumble was selected for the role over Ravi Shastri, who was pipped as the front-runner for the job after the BCCI invited applications for the vacant post. Following his selection after giving a two-hour presentation in a Kolkata hotel, Kumble drew praise from several members of the cricket community, including skipper Virat Kohli. With the Indian cricket team having already departed for the West Indies for the four-Test tour, McGrath added that the slow and low wickets, which have evolved over a period of time, will make the Indian bowlers feel at home. “The wickets in West Indies are a little different to what they used to be earlier. They are more like Indian wickets, and I am sure the Indian bowlers would do just fine,” said McGrath, who is currently in Chennai in the capacity of the Director of the MRF Pace Foundation, and will be conducting the regular coaching camp.