Didn’t want to be just a figurehead: Kumble

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Former India captain Anil Kumble on Tuesday said he resigned as National Cricket Academy's chairman as he didn't want to be just a "figurehead" when none of his plans found support from other committee members.

Almost two months after a controversy broke out over an apparent conflict of interest, Kumble stepped down and his resignation was accepted by the BCCI's working committee, which met here on Monday.

"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 here.

Asked why his plans didn't find support with others, Kumble said, "I don't know but I was very keen to contribute and even put together a proposal."

Punjab Cricket Association's general secretary M.P. Pandove will be the caretaker chairman of the NCA till a full-time appointment is made.

Initially, "lack of time" was said to be the reason why Kumble stepped down as NCA chairman but later yesterday, the retired leg spinner told PTI that he was left with no other option.

"I had a three-year vision to make NCA a better academy. I had made 10 presentations during my tenure as chairman with the hope that my vision could be accepted. Even on Sunday I had discussed this at the NCA meeting in Chennai. But it was not in alignment with the rest of the committee," Kumble said.

"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 added.

Kumble is also the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, a mentor with the IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore and has his own company 'Tenvic' which manages Karnataka players like R. Vinay Kumar and Sreenath Aravind.

Interestingly, a few months back, there were reports of Kumble having 'conflict of interest' being the KSCA president who also happens to own a company that manages some of Karnataka's top cricketers.

Kumble, 41, who has captured 619 wickets in 132 Tests, is the third highest Test wicket-taker behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. In 271 one-dayers, he has taken 337 wickets.