Kumble, in late 2019, had signed a two-year deal with KXIP and will take charge of the team during the 13th edition of IPL, which is scheduled to be played from September 19 to November 10 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Lee, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders and KXIP in the franchise-based event, said that the players would benefit from Kumble’s vast experience of the game as the side searches for its maiden title.

“Having someone like Kumble in the mix will certainly be invaluable for the squad,” Lee said on Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Connected’. “His knowledge and experience will definitely help. Kings XI has got a great squad and needs to win. It has a wonderful team, but it has not got over the line yet in IPL. So, I am actually waiting for that to happen.

“It is a great franchise to play for. I will put my hand up and say that I had a lot of fun when I played for it,” he added. Kumble, who stepped down as Team India’s head coach in 2017 after the conclusion of the Champions Trophy, took the top job at KXIP after Mike Hesson left the franchise to join Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as director of cricket.

Kumble doesn’t have any prior experience of being a head coach in IPL and the KXIP role is his first. He, however, was a part of the backroom staff at RCB and Mumbai Indians (MI) as a mentor.