What’s the Story?
In the last couple of days, much has happened in the Indian cricketing circles away from the cricketing pitch, with reports emerging about how current head coach Anil Kumble is unlikely to get an extension in his contract post the Champions Trophy, as the players are not entirely happy with his style of coaching.
Earlier today, a report in The Hindu claimed, albeit unofficially, that the spat between Kumble and skipper Virat Kohli began ahead of the Ranchi Test in March against Australia, when the former was in favour of handing left-arm chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the game while the latter disagreed with the idea of doing so.
“This may or may not be the reason. But we believe the people in the corridors of power have been told that Kumble is overbearing and doesn’t give freedom to the players. It’s sad that aspersions are cast on a legend of Indian cricket.” an official told The Hindu.
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On Monday, reports in India Today suggested that neither the senior players nor the junior players were entirely happy with Kumble’s style of functioning, adding that there was not a lot of freedom within the setup to express themselves freely and have also expressed their unhappiness with the Committee of Administrators(CoA).
The heart of the matter
The first real indication of such issues brewing in the Indian dressing room emerged when the BCCI decided to invite fresh applicants for the post of the Team India head coach last week.
Kumble, whose contract ends at the conclusion of the Champions Trophy, was given a direct entry in the process. Since then, though, things have gotten murkier with reports emerging on Sunday that former India batsman Virender Sehwag was asked to put his name in the hat for the top job.
Monday’s reports about the team not being happy with Kumble only further intensified what really is a very unwanted distraction for a side, who are looking to defend a title which they so emphatically won in 2013.
Extra Cover: Why Team India coach Anil Kumble could be on a sticky wicket
What’s next?
India are set to play in their second warm-up match in the Champions Trophy against Bangladesh on Tuesday and 5 days later, play their first match of the competition against Pakistan at Edgbaston.
Author’s take
Ahead of what promises to be a cracker of an event, this controversy really seems unnecessary as far as Indian cricket is concerned. One can only hope that the players regroup and put their best foot forward in the event, starting on Thursday.
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