Former India captain Anil Kumble said he resigned from the chairmanship of the National Cricket Academy as he did not 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 Board of Control for Cricket in India's Working Committee, which met in Bangalore 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 on Tuesday.
Asked why his plans did not find support with others, Kumble replied, "I don't know, but I was very keen to contribute and even put together a proposal."
- The only interest I have is for the good of cricket
Punjab Cricket Association 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, on Monday, the retired leg spinner said 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 president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, mentor of Indian Premier League 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, captured 619 wickets in 132 Tests; he is the third highest Test wicket-taker, behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.
In 271 one-dayers, he bagged 337 wickets.
