NEW DELHI: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed India’s former Test captain Anil Kumble as head coach for a year.

The post was vacant since the ICC World T20 earlier this year after the former Indian team director and coach Ravi Shashtri’s contract expired.

BCCI published an ad announcing the hunt for a new coach on June 1, the ad attracted 57 applications.

Shashtri was anticipated to win the race but the Cricket Advisory Committee — comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, and Sourav Ganguly — finalised the leg-spin maestro.

The appointment may come as a surprise to many as the leggie has no prior coaching experience besides a few stints as mentor in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

In his 18-year long career, Kumble bagged 619 Test wickets — the most by an Indian. His best bowling figures of 10 for 74 came against Pakistan at Delhi when he single-handedly dismissed the visitors in 1999.