“Selectors are present to drop you”: Anil Kumble

At a time when cricketers in India have attacked the selection panel for not getting adequate opportunities, former Indian spinner Anil Kumble has come out and spoken about the real purpose of the selectors. The likes of Ambati Rayudu, Murali Vijay, Yuvraj Singh, and Karun Nair, have, in the past, attacked the selectors, but Kumble has a different view and mentioned that their real job is to drop players and not select them.

“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 book launch of WV Raman. The event had Rahul Dravid, Roger Binny, Mithali Raj and Ajinkya Rahabe in attendance. Kumble also spoke about the distractions a player faced in 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 need to be,” he said.

Kumble further stressed on the importance of a good leadership group and gave his example while mentioning the monkey gate episode 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 (monkey gate). 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.