Despite Anil Kumble's good show, BCCI puts out job alert for new India coach

India Cricket - India practice session Bengaluru, India - 30/06/16. India's newly appointed cricket coach Anil Kumble attends a practice session. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa - RTX2J0IO

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has invited applications for the role of India's head coach, casting a doubt on Anil Kumble's future in the role.

Kumble's one-year contract as head coach is slated to end when the ICC Champions Trophy concludes on June 18.

He will have to go through a "fair and completely transparent process" including an interview with former teammates Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman who form the Cricket Advisory Committee, if he wants to retain the position.

The move to not automatically retain Kumble may come as a surprise to many, especially after the Indian team's commendable performance in the 2016-17 season.

During Kumble's tenure as the head coach, the team clean-swept Test series against New Zealand and won the five-match Test series against England 4-0. The team also won Test series against West Indies, Bangladesh and Australia.

In the same period, India won all limited overs series against New Zealand and England while losing a two-match Twenty20 (T20) series against the West Indies in the Caribbean.

As a result of this almost blemish-free performance, India topped the Test ranking and currently sit at third and fourth in the One Day Internationals and T20 rankings respectively.

However, critics have downplayed Kumble's achievements as coach, pointing out that most of the 2016-17 season was played in the subcontinent.