With 18 years of experience of playing international cricket, Anil Kumble is well aware that the result of the game matters, but it's the effort that counts more. Never to shy away from responsibility or retreat to the dressing room when wounded, Kumble set standards in professionalism that were unprecedented. Now that he takes a fresh guard as the Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team, the 45-year-old wants the team to exhibit fighting spirit irrespective of the state of the game. With Virat Kohli at the helm of the Test team, the Head Coach will not have much difficulty in conveying the message as Kohli himself believes in giving his best each time he steps on the field. The upcoming four-match Test series in the West Indies will see a combination of Kohli’s winning attitude and Kumble’s fighting will. “Our belief is that our job (support group and coaching staff) is to work in the background. Those who will be in the forefront will be the players, the captain. I firmly believe that the player that I was and the coach that I am, fully understand both the roles and the responsibilities. I believe this team is very talented and whatever we want to see from the team on the ground, I will also share my experience. One thing I will definitely say is, win or lose, the fighting spirit will always be there.” With just four from the group having prior knowledge of playing Test cricket in the Caribbean, Kumble said the team will derive confidence from their series victory in 2011. “The last time we went to the West Indies, we won the series and we will take that confidence with us. This Indian team has played very well in Test cricket.

“Last time Ishant Sharma was Man of the Match. He will be the leader of the bowling attack. Virat has already played there, Murali Vijay did well on that tour and Amit Mishra has played too. So there is experience in this team and I have been there before, so I will bring in that as well. West Indies is always a tough team at home and yes, changes have happened in the West Indies set-up. They are more formidable in the shorter formats but from what my experiences have been from previous tours, conditions are not dissimilar to the Indian conditions.” India’s leading wicket-taker in both Test and ODIs mentioned that he also had a conversation with MS Dhoni, India’s ODI and T20 captain. “I had a welcome meeting today (Wednesday). I spoke of how much of a privilege it is to be again part of the Indian team, that I can share my experiences with them. In the next five-six days, there will be a lot of interactions. The start was good and very welcoming. I also spoke to MS after he came back from Zimbabwe and although it was only on the phone, I have spoken to him at length, so really looking forward to working with both MS and Virat.”

Asked to compare the current bunch of players with the teams he has been a part of, Kumble said, “They are all young, the average age is 25-26 and they’ve already had experience of playing at the highest level. Virat has played close to 40 Tests, Ishant has played 60 and he’s only 27-28, so there is experience and there’s youth. It’s nice to see that mix. It’s nice to come back into that setup. When I retired, I played with a lot of people who went on to become great players, and it was nice that I had that privilege. “Now there’s a journey which we can embark on where some of them can become great players, and they are in the making of great players. It’s nice to be a part of the journey. The exuberance and fitness levels have gone drastically upwards and that’s something I’m excited about.” Kumble also made it clear that he called up Ravi Shastri, former India Team Director and conveyed his wishes. “He congratulated me. He did a wonderful job with the Indian team. I told him it’s a fantastic young team that we have. It is not whether it is me or Ravi or any Indian, we all want the Indian team to do well and perform at its best. It could be someone else tomorrow. I'm not permanent in this role. I have an opportunity to make a difference. I have an opportunity to be a part of the journey and if I can be part of the journey where we see Indian cricket rise to where we all want it to be, then I think it’s wonderful. We all believe that there is potential for the Indian team to be the best in all three formats.”