I had requested Dravid to coach India: Anurag Thakur

BCCI president Anurag Thakur has revealed that Anil Kumble was not the first choice to coach the Indian cricket team and the board had approached Rahul Dravid for the top job.

Dravid is currently the coach of U-19 and India A teams and has also managed Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

"I requested Rahul Dravid to coach the Indian team. He didn’t say no, but said that he will work for the junior team," Thakur told NDTV.

"That is the good thing about Dravid, he didn’t go for the senior team post, big money and all. He wanted to work for the junior cricketers and not the senior team," he added.

On Thursday, BCCI announced Kumble as the coach for next one year after a selection process conducted by a four-member advisory committee which included Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Sandeep Jagdale.