Kumble says he had no option but to quit as chief of the NCA

A DAY after quitting as National Cricket Academy (NCA) chairman, Anil Kumble revealed the reason for his sudden decision. "I had a plan which didn't have much alignment with other committee members. I didn't want to be just a figurehead," Kumble told reporters in Bangalore.



Besides not wanting to be just the figurehead, the former India captain added that he had made at least 10 presentations before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during his 15-month stint with the NCA, but found no support from the Board mandarins.

The BCCI, however, questioned the former India captain's claims, according to PTI. "Kumble's software proposal for injury management was found to be too costly. It was just not feasible. Kumble wanted a certain software company to handle the project," a top BCCI source said. It is learnt that the software programme to monitor the injury management was the reason for the difference of opinion.

It is also learnt from BCCI sources that Kumble would have got a commission from the software company. Sources further said that Kumble had made a similar proposal through his firm Tenvic a few months ago for an estimated cost of about Rs 15 crore.

Kumble revealed he had discussed the matter with BCCI bosses on the eve of the Working Committee Meeting. "I was very keen to contribute and even put together a proposal but with no effect. Then, I felt that it made no sense to be a chairman when I was not being heard. I had no other option but to move on in life," he told reporters.

Kumble also holds three other key positions that raised the conflict of interest issue a few months back. Apart from being the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, he is also a mentor with IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore and a director of his firm Tenvic that manages Karnataka players like R Vinay Kumar and Sreenath Aravind.