Chappel hails Kumble pick

Greg Chappell, the former India coach, said on Sunday that Anil Kumble's selection as the national team's coach is an 'inspired choice' and he will bring the same fighting spirit to the team as a coach that he brought as a player.

Chappell, who headed the reigns of Indian cricket as a coach from 2005 to 2007, said that Virat Kohli is lucky to have a man of Kumble's strengths as his ally and added: "It will be a powerful partnership that I expect will serve India well."

Despite having negligible coaching experience, Kumble was appointed ahead of 56 other applicants  and nine others who were interviewed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI's) Cricket Advisory Committee, comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.

Recounting his time's with the legendary leg-spinner, Chappell wrote in The Hindu, "He [Kumble] was the heart to Rahul Dravid's soul of the Indian teams in which they played with such distinction. If they had been blessed to have been surrounded by other selfless individuals whose only aim was to serve the team, the Indian teams in which they played would have been impossible to beat."