Anil Kumble speaks on India's injury woes and Parthiv's dream comeback

Team India head coach Anil Kumble who has started off his coaching career in a near perfect style took time off his busy schedule and spoke to the media regarding a number of issues in the ongoing Test series between India and England. India is currently leading the 5-match series 2-0, with two more matches to go.

The former leg-spinner was asked a variety of questions including India’s injury worries and Murali Vijay’s technique against the short ball and Kumble tackled it pretty well. Kumble who was congratulated by the media for India’s good show in the series so far was asked whether he was perturbed by India constantly changing their opening combination.

“These things are not in our control. Injuries are part and parcel of the game. Unfortunately, KL Rahul got hit during the game at short leg and that’s why he missed out. We have done really well in dealing with these circumstances, with Parthiv doing a fantastic job. Rahul will definitely have a hit today. For New Zealand and West Indies, we have had different sides with Vijay, Shikhar and Gauti getting injured. It has to stop at some stage”.

Speaking of Dilip Vengsarkar’s comments that Indian cricketers take too much of a workload, the legendary leg-spinner said, “I only see the report, but I can tell you the fitness parameters currently are the best it has ever been. In the 90s fitness and conditioning was a personal choice. In 2000, it entered the mainstream, and now it is a part and parcel of the game. I myself was the fittest after I came back from injury. As I was aging, I had to do more. As a coach with our setup, we are willing to clarify anything.

“Hardik got injured in the nets by a ball, KL at short leg, Vijay and Shikhar while batting, all cricketing injuries. The good part is the team has stood up and made it count, for example, Parthiv making a comeback after 8 years, showing no nerves and doing so brilliantly. The team is doing really well, I am not worried. We keep a track of workloads, especially the fast bowlers, if we need to pull back, we will”.

Speaking on the DRS, Kumble revealed that all the players were pretty satisfied with the way DRS panned out. “It’s been really good, overall the players are very satisfied. It’s not a matter of score-keeping saying which team has got it better. It’s a matter of making the right call at the right time and it has added to the balance of the game,” Kumble said.

Kumble was very happy with the performance of Indian pacers. He felt that the presence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma in the dugout has benefited the likes of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.

“I’m not someone who compares, I don’t believe in stats as long as they don’t win you matches. The fast bowlers have been brilliant, it’s not just the two of them but Bhuvi and Ishant as well. To have them on the bench is a credit to Umesh and Shami. We keep looking at their workloads, especially Shami after 18 months out, we monitor it and it is a challenge when you only have 3 – 4 days break between matches, it’s important that they are given breaks. Great credit to them, not just with the new ball, but coming back in the 3rd and 4th spells and last hour to take wickets is immensely creditable”.

On Vijay’s weakness against the short ball Kumble said, “He has been one of the most consistent players over the last few years. He started very well with a century in this series, but yes, he got out in a similar fashion, and you can point out that it his weakness, but that’s not fair. A big score is right around the corner, we go out into the nets and we try to help him but we don’t need to go too deep, it’s just a matter of time before he scores runs. He has been most consistent”.

Lastly speaking on Parthiv Patel’s brilliant comeback in the Mohali Test, Kumble stated, “Even when he first came in, he still looks 16, if you shave his beard off, he still looks 16. The first time he walked out in Indian colours, he saved the Test match for us. If you put the hard yards in, it will show. If you believe, it will happen. I was really pleased that he got a chance to open and that he did so well. It shows the character of the player, to say the team comes above self, he wasn’t worried about failure. People always want to do well for themselves, he put the team ahead of him”.