Kolkata: Members of the Indian team is reportedly unhappy with head coach Anil Kumble’s dominant attitude and have complained to the Committee of Administrators (CoA) about the same.
According to India Today, the player’s unhappiness resulted from the fact that there is no freedom in the dressing room despite the players enjoying a friendly relation with the coach.
This development doesn’t seem good for the Indian team who are just days away from beginning their Champions Trophy title defense against arch-rivals Pakistan in Edgebaston on June 4. Kumble doesn’t seem to enjoy the confidence of the players.
The leg-spinner was appointed in 2016 by a three member body known as the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) which comprises of his former teammates- Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman.
His appointment as the coach yielded fantastic results for the Indian team as they romped to the number one position in Test cricket rankings and registered five consecutive series victories. Under him, the performance of the team was nothing short of phenomenal as they lost just one test match, winning 10 and drawing two out of the 13 matches played at home. Even in the limited overs format, the Indian team went past England and New Zealand under his guidance and mentorship.
The CoA is expected to handle this situation delicately as the Champions Trophy is just few days away and all eyes would be on the Indian team who would enter the competition as one of the favourites.
However this isn’t the first time such a thing has happened in Indian cricket. Back in 2007, an infamous conflict between the then Indian senior cricketers, especially skipper Sourav Ganguly and coach Greg Chappell.
This incident resulted in the end of Chappell’s tenure as the coach. In the following decade, senior cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan have spoken about the hard times that they had to face under Chappell.
If we go into comparisons, then Kumble definitely has a better record than Chappell as the coach of the Indian team.
To narrow down on the former skipper’s achievements, Indian middle order batsman in Test cricket, Cheteshwar Pujara evolved into a different player altogether and emerged as one of the top players in world cricket after the slump
he faced in the middle of 2016.
To maintain transparency, the BCCI in a press release on May 25 stated that a nominee of the CoA would administer the process of appointing the new coach along with the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC).
“To ensure a fair and completely transparent process, a nominee of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) will oversee the entire process along with the Cricket Advisory Committee…The BCCI’s three-member advisory committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman will conduct interviews and seek presentations to select the best possible candidate to guide the team and take Indian Cricket forward” said the board.
The earlier thought of Kumble retaining his job seems now all the more improbable after this.
(With inputs from India Today)