Anil Kumble has firmly backed Rahul Dravid, the captain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, and said it was time "people who matter" understand what sports is all about.

Kumble's statement comes in the wake of the comments made by Vijay Mallya, the liquor baron who owns the franchise, where he defended his decision to sack Charu Sharma, the CEO, and also said his biggest mistake was to trust Dravid on matters of team selection.

"What's important though, is that at this time, you need all the support and backing you can get," Kumble wrote in his column for Hindustan Times. "You need the people around you, the people who matter, to understand what sport is all about, to realise that no one goes out there to lose.

"What's unfortunate is that, invariably, everyone starts pointing fingers at the captain. So it stands all the more to reason that people within the camp then stand up and say 'we believe in you and your team'. That's what's most important in this kind of situation. I do understand that the IPL is different and there is a corporate look and feel to the whole concept. But having said that, at the end of the day, it is a cricket match - one that a cricketer does not want to lose."