Great chance to win series against England: Kumble

Talking about the upcoming tour of India to England, a confident Anil Kumble said that India is in good form and shape in both departments and reckons wrist spinners will play an important role for the visiting team.

Talking about the upcoming tour of India to England, a confident Anil Kumble said that India is in good form and shape in both departments and reckons wrist spinners will play an important role for the visiting team.

"We have a great side and an all-round side. In bowling we have the experience and bowlers who can take 20 wickets consistently. If you look at the batting line-up, it has a lot of experience as well," said the former Indian team’s coach.

Kumble is confident of the bowlers and said that the weather will support Team India. "We have the best spinners in the world and even in terms of conditions the fact that we are playing in the second-half will help our cause. We have a great opportunity to win the series. We shouldn't have a problem operating with Duke ball," he added.

"On average, all the players have played close to 50 Tests. That adds a lot of value and it’s not the first time that they are touring England. They have all been there before and they are familiar with the conditions," Kumble said.

A leg-spinner himself, Kumble said that wrist spinners will benefit in the series given the condition of the pitch in England.

"Wrist spinners will certainly be a handful and they will certainly play an important part in England since this time we are touring in the second half. The wicket will have its wear and tear and the wrist spinners will come into the game much earlier than the first half of the summer," he added.

At an event organized to showcase a new technology for the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), the former Indian captain highlighted the importance for such small league which bring young talents to the fore.

Taking a few names, the 47-year-old said that Washington Sundar was one such player. His performance got him the IPL and eventually to the blue jersey. He said that such leagues give such talents recognition which lands them in the big leagues like the IPL.

On Ambati Rayudu’s axing from the squad for England tour after failing the Yo-Yo test, Kumble said that one should respect the process laid down by the management.

"It is important what the communication has been to the player. If that is a criterion that has been laid out and if it's a part of the process then you should respect that process," he added.

Kumble proudly announced that his company (TENVIC Sports), in collaboration with Microsoft, will use a new technology in the TNPL which will help them to analyse a person’s batting in real time.

"This is technology that we are bringing into TNPL. Glad that TNPL has given us a platform. So this is a smart sticker and once you put this on the bat it becomes a smart bat. And we get data in real-time," he added elaborating on the new tech.