Kolkata: The Lodha Committee on Saturday, severely criticised the BCCI for overlooking Anil Kumble’s impressive work with the Indian team and inviting applications for the post of the head coach of the team, according to The Times of India.
The BCCI has invited applications for the job to be submitted within May 31 as the former Indian skipper’s contract ends after the Champions Trophy. The Indian board however said that Anil Kumble, “will be a direct entry for the [selection] process.”
Lodha Committee secretary Gopal Sankaranarayanan hit out at the BCCI criticising the board’s method of giving out short term contracts for the position of the head coach, terming it as, “ludicrous”.
“Kumble does not deserve this kind of treatment. This isn’t the right way to treat your national coach. One year coaching tenure is a ludicrous thing to do. For a national coach, year-to-year appointment isn’t the way forward. Who will come for a one year tenure,” said Sankaranarayanan.
He further added, “You can see that this is done deliberately by the board officials. You can’t be giving a piece meal to your national coach. The next contract shouldn’t be for a year.”
Sankaranarayanan also alluded to the fact that Kumble might be facing the consequences for maintaining good relations with the Lodha Committee and the Vinod Rai led Committee of Administrators, “Kumble has stood up for the players and pointed out that they don’t get a penny from the ICC while it all goes into unaccounted pockets. Clearly people are unhappy with that.”
Virat Kohli defends BCCI
But Indian skipper Virat Kohli batted for the Indian board saying that them inviting new applications for the job of the head coach was nothing but a due procedure. Said Kohli, “The process has been followed every single time the similar way and for the past so many years is what I know. Even the last time, the post was up for a change, the same procedure was applied.”
Under Kumble’s guidance and mentorship, the Indian team achieved a lot of success in the recent past. They won 12 test matches out of the 17 they played and rose to the number one position in the ICC Test rankings. They have also registered emphatic series victories against the West Indies, New Zealand, England and Australia.