'Selectors are there to actually drop you not select you' - Anil Kumble

At a time when a number of players have taken shots at the selection panel for not backing them, former India skipper and head coach Anil Kumble has shed some light on what really is the purpose of the selectors. The likes of Yuvraj Singh, Murali Vijay, Karun Nair have expressed their displeasure in recent months over the way they were treated by the selectors.

Anil Kumble, however, has a different view over the entire scenario. The legendary bowler believes that the selectors are there to drop a player and not select him. He also stressed on the need to focus on oneself instead of the end result.

“Selectors are there to actually drop you not select you, because you pick yourself,” Kumble was quoted as saying by The Times of India. “In the end, it’s only your performances that count. So, the focus has to be on wanting to do better.”

Kumble was speaking during the launch programme of former India cricketer WV Raman’s book ‘The Winning Sixer’. The function was also attended by stalwarts like GR Viswanath, Rahul Dravid, Roger Binny, Mithali Raj and Ajinkya Rahane. Kumble further spoke on the distractions that a player face during his career.

“Each era has its own share of distractions. When we were playing, I had everyone tell me what I should be bowling and how I should be bowling and when I should be bowling. Also, whether India should bat or bowl first or which bowler should bowl and at what time? I think those comments were always there. But today, it’s more visible because of social media. You just have to make sure that you stay away from all that and focus on what you need to do on that particular day and what your goals needs to be,” he said.

Anil Kumble opens up on leadership

Anil Kumble also spoke on leadership and stressed on the importance of a captain having a core group of players who support him. India’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker stated that he was lucky to have the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman by his side while also recalling the infamous monkeygate incident in Australia.

“You need a core group of players to support (the captain). That way I was lucky. I had Sachin Tendulkar), Sourav (Ganguly) and (VVS) Laxman. Things fall into place if you have a good core group around you,” said Kumble.

“You have to distance yourself from the emotions of what is happening in a situation like that (monkeygate). Once you distance yourself from the issue then you need to deal with the issue rather than the personality. Invariably when conflicts happen, you try and worry too much about the personality and not think about the real issue. Once we look at the real issue in a holistic way, things fall into place. I think that is an important aspect when we face those issues,” he added.

Watch: Irfan Pathan’s interview post his retirement