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Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble are said to have been at loggerheads since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. With Team India’s crucial ICC Champions Trophy group-stage opener against Pakistan just a couple of days away, reports have emerged that India captain Virat Kohli walked out on head coach Anil Kumble, during a practice session near the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, in Birmingham, on Thursday.

Kohli and Kumble are said to have been at loggerheads since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, which the former clinched 2-1.

However, according reports, the two had fallen out over the team selection during the third Test, in Ranchi. Although Kuldeep Yadav, who Kumble was backing to be included in the XI, was not picked for the Ranchi Test, he made his debut in the Dharamsala Test, where Ajinkya Rahane led the team in the absence of the injured Kohli.

Certain reports have also suggested that Kohli was not too happy with Kumble’s iron-fisted approach to team management.

With Kumble’s contract coming to an end after the end of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy in England, the BCCI had invited applications for the head coach job, the deadline for which, closed on Wednesday, May 31. The likes of Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Lalchand Rajput, Dodda Ganesh, and Richard Pybus are said to have sent in their applications, while Kumble gets a direct entry into the application process.

Kohli, who was already said to have been displeased with the training facilities that were provided to Team India, walked out on Kumble, while the Team India coach was walking into the training pitch with some equipment, according to Bangalore Mirror.

While the alleged walk-out may have been nothing more than Kohli being disappointed about the training facilities adjacent to Edgebaston, it remains to be seen how this entire saga affects the morale of the Indian cricket team, ahead of their crucial Champions Trophy opener against arch-rivals Pakistan.

According to Shirke, former BCCI president Anurag Thakur took both the parties into confidence and ensured there were no problems.

The Indian cricket team finds itself hit by a huge controversy with reports of a rift between captain Virat Kohli and head coach Anil Kumble taking centre-stage. While everything appeared hunky dory during India’s all-conquering home season, it has now come to light that Kohli has concerns over Kumble’s appointment from the very beginning. Former BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke made this revelation on Thursday in an interview to the Indian Express. Kohli had to accept the appointment because it was a direct recommendation of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC).

“There had been some murmurs about this (Kumble-Kohli rift) even at the time of Mr Kumble’s appointment. At that time, our president (Anurag Thakur) had taken the initiative and had a detailed discussion with both parties, and it was decided that since the cricket committee (CAC) had recommended Mr Kumble as the best option, we should go ahead with that. Therefore, I think the real reason for a one-year contract was that we would work and evolve, and see how this went, so as to keep the options open at a future date,” Shirke said.

According to Shirke, former BCCI president Anurag Thakur took both the parties into confidence and ensured there were no problems.

“Let us say he (Kohli) had his own views about it. And like I said, our president, Mr Thakur, took the initiative and told him that this was the unanimous choice of the cricket committee and we would have to abide by their recommendation and Kohli should accept it,” Shirke said.

The CAC, with Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, opted for Kumble over Ravi Shastri, who many believe was Kohli’s preferred choice for the role.

The acting secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Amitabh Choudhary, and BCCI’s General Manager (Cricket), MV Sridhar, had a meeting with the members of the Indian cricket team on Thursday on the vexed Anil Kumble issue. However, the outcome of the meeting is yet to be known. Sources suggest that the meeting was held with some of the players to discuss about Kumble and find out if there is any discontent. While any talk of a ‘rift’ between India captain Virat Kohli and Kumble have been categorically denied by Choudhary, the cricket board in any case has sent a three-man team to England to address the issue.

The controversy surrounding the icy relations between Kohli and Kumble has grabbed all headlines ever since the Men in Blue arrived in England.

At a time when Indian cricket fans want the team to stay focused ahead of the Pakistan match, Bangalore Mirror has reported that Kumble and Kohli shared ‘cold vibes’ after the warm-up match against Bangladesh.

That’s not all. As the legendary leg-spinner approached the nets with some equipment, the Indian captain walked away.

The BCCI has earlier issued a press release asking for applications for the post of Head Coach for the team, the deadline for which ended on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) is trying to broker peace between Kumble and Kohli but the differences are “almost irrevocable”.

The three officials in England are CoA head Vinod Rai, Choudhary and Sridhar.

Ramachandra Guha, the prominent historian who stepped down from the Supreme Court-appointed committee of administrators (CoA), has left with a scathing resignation letter that expresses frustration with inaction over conflicts of interest, superstar culture, poor treatment of domestic players who don’t play IPL, among other issues.

 

“It has been clear for some time now that my thoughts and views are adjacent to, and sometimes at odds with, the direction the Committee is taking as a whole,” Guha wrote.

 

Here is a summary of Guha’s concerns:

Conflict of interest of coaches

Guha was unhappy with the system where national coaches are contracted for 10 months a year and then go away for IPL duty. Rahul Dravid, R Sridhar, Sanjay Bangar and Bharat Arun are examples of coaches who are, or have been, part of the support staff of both national teams and IPL franchises.

 

Guha also alleged preferential treatment when it came to awarding these contracts. “The more famous the former player-turned-coach, the more likely was the BCCI to allow him to draft his own contract that left loopholes that he exploited to dodge the conflict of interest issue,” he wrote. “I had first raised this issue to my COA colleagues in an email of 1st February, and have raised it several times since. I had urged that coaches and support staff for national teams be paid an enhanced compensation, but that this conflict of interest be stopped.”

 

Guha went on to mention an NCA camp where at least one national coach was not available because of IPL duties.

 

Conflict of interest of commentators

Guha said Sunil Gavaskar was a BCCI-contracted commentator and the director of PMG, a player management company, which has Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan on its rolls.

 

“Sunil Gavaskar is head of a company which represents Indian cricketers while commenting on those cricketers as part of the BCCI TV commentary panel,” Guha had written to his colleagues on March 19. “This is a clear conflict of interest. Either he must step down/withdraw himself from PMG completely or stop being a commentator for BCCI.”

 

Without naming possibly Sourav Ganguly, Guha wrote: “One famous former cricketer is contracted by media houses to comment on active players while serving as President of his State Association.”

 

Superstar culture in awarding national contracts

Even though the new contracts rewarded Cheteshwar Pujara’s Test performances, Guha also noted: “As you will recall, I had pointed out that awarding MS Dhoni an ‘A’ contract when he had explicitly ruled himself out from all Test matches was indefensible on cricketing grounds, and sends absolutely the wrong message.”

 

Superstar captain

In all likelihood, India’s coach Kumble will not get an extension of his contract even though India have won every series bar one – a rain-affected T20 dash against West Indies in USA – under his watch. The reason being given by BCCI officials is that Kumble has lost the trust of the captain Kohli. The news broke a day after Kumble made a presentation for better contracts for all stakeholders.

 

“Kumble was left hanging, and then told the post would be re-advertised afresh,” Guha wrote. “Clearly, the issue has been handled in an extremely insensitive and unprofessional manner by the BCCI CEO and the BCCI office-bearers, with the COA, by its silence and inaction, unfortunately being complicit in this regard.”

 

Guha questioned the timing and intent of the advertisement for the coaching job. “If indeed the captain and the Head Coach were not getting along, why was not this attended to as soon as the Australia series was over in late March?

 

“Surely giving senior players the impression that they may have a veto power over the coach is another example of superstar culture gone berserk?”

 

Poor payments for domestic cricketers

Domestic cricketers end up making about INR 1.4 lakh for a Ranji Trophy match, but they are paid only INR 10,000 upfront. The balance is often delayed.

 

“There are many more Indian cricketers who make their living via the Ranji Trophy than via IPL; besides, for us to have a consistently strong Test team (especially overseas) we need a robust inter-state competition and therefore must seek to compensate domestic players betters,” Guha wrote. “And yet, shockingly, Ranji match fees have remained at a very low level (a mere Rs 30,000 odd for each day of play); moreover, cheques for match fees sent by the BCCI are sometimes not passed on by the state associations to the players.”

 

CoA complicit in Champions Trophy pullout threats

Guha did not spare the CoA for its inaction until the last minute when the BCCI delayed the team selection for the Champions Trophy because they were unhappy with the outcomes of the ICC meetings.

 

The BCCI meetings that decided this course of action were attended by disqualified officials such as N Srinivasan and Niranjan Shah. “All these illegalities were widely reported in the press; yet the COA did not bring them to the notice of the Court, and did not issue clear directions asking the offenders to desist either,” Guha wrote.

 

Not everyone kept in loop

In perhaps the most damning indictment of the CoA, Guha accused the commitee of changing its lawyer without informing him. “There were several crucial decisions made where all the COA members were not brought into the loop,” Guha said. “For instance, a capable, non-political Senior Counsel representing the COA and the BCCI in the Supreme Court was abruptly replaced by another Senior Counsel who is a party politician.”

 

Male cricketer missing

Guha said he believed CoA’s inaction was down to the absence of a senior male cricketer in the committee. He said he had suggested the names of Bishan Bedi and S Venkataraghavan to the committee, but both of them were disqualified by the virtue of their age over 70. He then suggested the name of Javagal Srinath, but this was not acted upon. He ended the letter saying he hoped he would be replaced by a senior male cricketer.

Article courtesy – www.espncricinfo.com

Historian Ramachandra Guha, one of the four members of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) appointed by the Supreme Court to run the BCCI, on Thursday announced his resignation from the committee, citing personal reasons.

 

Mr. Guha had informed a Vacation Bench of Justices M.M. Shantanagoudar and Deepak Gupta that he had resigned from his post and discussed the issue with the committee’s chairperson and former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai.

 

Dear Vinod,

 

It has been a privilege working with Diana, Vikram and you in the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators. It has been an educative experience, spending long hours with three top-flight professionals from whom I have learned a lot in these past few months. However, it has seemed clear for some time now that my thoughts and views are adjacent to, and sometimes at odds with, the direction the Committee is taking as a whole. That is why I eventually decided to request the Supreme Court to relieve me of the responsibility, and submitted my letter of resignation to the Court on the morning of the 1st of June.

 

For the record, and in the interests of transparency, I am here listing the major points of divergence as I see it:

 

1. The question of conflict of interest, which had lain unaddressed ever since the Committee began its work, and which I have been repeatedly flagging since I joined. For instance, the BCCI has accorded preferential treatment to Some national coaches, by giving them ten month contracts for national duty, thus allowing them to work as IPL coaches/mentors for the remaining two months. This was done in an adhoc and arbitrary manner; the more famous the former player-turned-coach, the more likely was the BCCI to allow him to draft his own contract that left loopholes that he exploited to dodge the conflict of interest issue.

 

I have repeatedly pointed out that it is contrary to the spirit of the Lodha Committee for coaches or the support staff of the Indian senior or junior teams, or for staff at the National Cricket Academy, to have contracts in the Indian Premier League. One cannot have dual loyalties of this kind and do proper justice to both. National duty must take precedence over club affiliation.

 

I had first raised this issue to my COA colleagues in an email of 7″ February, and have raised it several times since. I had urged that coaches and support staff for national teams be paid an enhanced compensation, but that this conflict of interest be stopped. When, on the 11″ of March, I was told that that there was a camp scheduled for young players at the National Cricket Academy but at least one national coach was likely to be away on IPL work and might not attend the camp, I wrote to you:

 

No person under contract with an India team, or with the NCA, should be allowed to moonlight for an IPL team too.

 

BCCI in its carelessness (or otherwise) might have drafted coaching/support staff contracts to allow this dual loyalty business, but while it might be narrowly legal as per existing contracts, it is unethical, and antithetical to team spirit, leading to much jealousy and heart-burn among the coaching staff as a whole. This practice is plainly wrong, as well as antithetical to the interests of Indian cricket.

 

I would like an explicit and early assurance from the BCCI management that such manifestly inequitous loopholes in coaching/support staff contracts will be plugged forthwith.

 

Yet no assurance was given, and no action was taken. The BCCI management and office-bearers have, in the absence of explicit directions from the COA, allowed the status quo to continue.

 

2. I have also repeatedly pointed to the anomaly whereby BCCI-contracted Commentators simultaneously act as player agents. In a mail of 19 March to the COA I wrote:

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

Please have a look at this news report: (http://indianexpress.com/article/Sports/cricket/pmg-signs-up-shikhar-dhawan-for-3- years-277.63291)

 

Sunil Gavaskar is head of a company which represents Indian cricketers while commenting on those cricketers as part of the BCCITV commentary panel. This is a clear conflict of interest. Either he must step down, withdraw himself from PMG completely or stop being a commentator for BCCI.

 

I think prompt and swift action on this matter is both just and necessary. COA’s credibility and effectiveness hinges on our being able to take bold and correct decisions on such matters. The ‘superstar’ culture that afflicts the BCCI means that the more famous the player (former or present) the more leeway he is allowed in violating norms and procedures. (Dhoni was captain of the Indian team while holding a stake in a firm that represented some current India players.) This must stop – and only we can stop it.

 

… Yet, despite my warnings, no action has been initiated in the several months that the Committee has been in operation.

 

As the mail quoted above noted, one reason the conflict of interest issue has lingered unaddressed is that several of the game’s superstars, past and present, have been guilty of it. The BCCI management is too much in awe of these superstars to question their violation of norms and procedures. For their part, BCCI office-bearers like to enjoy discretionary powers, so that the coaches or commentators they favour are indebted to them and do not ever question their own mistakes or malpractices. But surely a Supreme Court appointed body should not be intimidated by the past or present achievements of a cricketer, and instead seek to strive to be fair and just.

 

Conflict of interest is rampant in the State Associations as well. One famous former cricketer is contracted by media houses to comment on active players while serving as President of his State Association. Others have served as office-bearers in one Association and simultaneously as coaches or managers in another. The awarding of business contracts to friends and relatives by office-bearers is reported to be fairly widespread.

 

Had we been more proactive in stopping conflict of interest within the BCCI (as per the Lodha Committee recommendations, endorsed by the Court), this would surely have had a ripple effect downwards, putting pressure on State Associations to clean up their act as well.

 

3. Unfortunately, this superstar syndrome has also distorted the system of Indian team contracts. As you will recall, I had pointed out that awarding M. S. Dhoni an ‘A’ contract when he had explicitly ruled himself out from all Test matches was indefensible on cricketing grounds, and sends absolutely the wrong message.

 

4. The way in which the contract of Anil Kumble, the current Head Coach of the senior team, has been handled. The Indian team’s record this past season has been excellent; and even if the players garner the bulk of the credit, surely the Head Coach and his support staff also get some. In a system based on justice and merit, the Head Coach’s term would have been extended. Instead, Kumble was left hanging, and then told that the post would be re-advertised afresh.

 

Clearly, the issue has been handled in an extremely insensitive and unprofessional manner by the BCCI CEO and the BCCI office-bearers, with the COA, by its silence and inaction, unfortunately being complicit in this regard. (Recall that the Court Order of 30 January had expressly mandated us to supervise the managament of the BCCI.) In case due process had to be followed since Kumble’s original appointment was only for one year, why was this not done during April and May, when the IPL was on? If indeed the captain and the head coach were not getting along, why was not this not attended to as soon as the Australia series was over in late March? Why was it left until the last minute, when a major international tournament was imminent, and when the uncertainty would undermine the morale and ability to focus of the coach, the captain, and the team? And surely giving senior players the impression that they may have a veto power over the coach is another example of the superstar culture gone berserk? Such a veto power is not permitted to any other top level professional team in any other sport in any other country. Already, in a dismaying departure from international norms, current Indian players enjoy a veto power on who can be members of the commentary team. If it is to be coaches next, then perhaps selectors and even office-bearers will follow?

 

5. Ever since the Supreme Court announced the formation of the COA, we have been inundated, individually and collectively, by hundreds of mails asking us to address various ills that afflict Indian cricket and its administration. While many of these issues were trivial or clearly beyond our purview, there was one concern that we should have done far more to address. This concerns the callous treatment of domestic cricket and cricketers, namely, those who represent their state in the Ranji Trophy, the Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and other inter-state tournaments. The IPL may be Indian cricket’s showpiece, but surely the enormous revenues it generates should be used to make our domestic players more financially secure? There are many more Indian cricketers who make their living via the Ranji Trophy than via the IPL, besides, for us to have a consistently strong Test team (especially overseas) we need a robust inter-state competition and therefore must seek to compensate domestic players better.

 

And yet, shockingly, Ranji match fees have remained at a very low level (a mere ₹30,000 odd for each day of play); moreover, cheques for match fees sent by the BCCI are sometimes not passed on by State associations to the players. We need to learn from best practices in other countries, where domestic players are awarded annual contracts like those in the national team, while their match fees are reasonably competitive too.

 

Several months ago, the experienced cricket administrator Amrit Mathur prepared an excellent note on the need for better and fairer treatment of domestic players. Both Diana and I have repeatedly urged action, but this has not happened.

 

6. I believe it was a mistake for the COA to have stayed silent and inactive when the Supreme Court judgment was being so flagrantly violated by people clearly disqualified to serve as office-bearers of state and even BCCI run cricket bodies. These disqualified men were openly attending BCCI meetings, claiming to represent their state association, and indeed played a leading role in the concerted (if fortunately in the end aborted) attempt to get the Indian team to boycott the Champions Trophy. All these illegalities were widely reported in the press; yet the COA did not bring them to the notice of the Court, and did not issue clear directions asking the offenders to desist either.

 

7. I believe that the lack of attention to these (and other such issues) is in part due to the absence of a senior and respected male cricketer on our Committee. Allow me to quote from a mail I wrote on 1 February 2017, before our first full meeting:

 

Dear fellow members,

 

I much look forward to meeting you all later today. I know Vikram already, and greatly admire both Vinod and Diana for their remarkable work in their chosen fields, and am truly honoured to be working with them as well.

 

I presume apart from discussing IPL, etc, with the BCCI representatives we will get some time to discuss the way forward separately. I have several ideas which I wish to share with you about our collective responsibility, and wanted in this mail to flag what is the most important of these. This is that we must incorporate into our committee of administrators, either as a full member or as a special invitee, a senior male cricketer with the distinction and integrity that Diana has. That will greatly enhance both our credibility and our ability to make informed decisions.

 

The absence of a respected male cricketer in the COA has attracted a great deal of criticism already, much of it from important stakeholders in Indian cricket. It must be addressed and remedied. The amicus curae had suggested two outstanding names, Venkat and Bedi, both of whom were rejected because they are over seventy. However, there are some cricketers of the right age and experience who fit the bill. Based on my knowledge of the subject, I would say Javagal Srinath would be an excellent choice. He is a world-class cricketer, was a successful and scandal-free Secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, and is an ICC match referee, and comes from an educated technical background to boot. I strongly urge the Chairman and the other members to consider approaching him in this regard. He would complement Diana perfectly, and the combination of these two respected and top class former cricketers would enhance our credibility and effectiveness enormously.

 

While Srinath is in my view the best choice, there are other alternative names too. I hope we can set aside some time at our meeting to discuss and resolve this issue.

 

With regards

 

Ram

 

P.S. Needless to say, I have not discussed this with Srinath or with anyone else.

 

I raised this issue in a formal meeting of the COA as well, but unfortunately my proposal to invite a senior male cricketer to join the committee was not acted upon. We should have approached the Court to take the necessary action, or else incorporated a senior, respected, male cricketer as a special invitee. With such a person on board the COA would have gained in experience, knowledge, understanding, and, not least, credibility. Indeed, had we had such a person on board, the BCCI management and the office-bearers would have been compelled to be far more proactive in implementing the Lodha Committee recommendations than they have been thus far.

 

As the only cricketer on the COA, Diana’s contributions have been invaluable; on many issues of administration and the rights of players she has brought a perspective based on a first-hand experience that the rest of us lacked. A male counterpart would have complemented and further enriched her contributions, but perhaps it is not too late to make amends.

 

8. While all our meetings were held in a cordial atmosphere, between meetings perhaps there was not adequate consultation, and there were several crucial decisions made where all the COA members were not brought into the loop. For instance, a capable, non-political Senior Counsel representing the COA and the BCCI in the Supreme Court was abruptly replaced by another Senior Counsel who is a party politician. Surely other COA members should have been consulted by email or by phone before this important change was made.

 

I have taken too much of your time already, but permit me to make one last suggestion. This is that the place vacated by me on the Committee of Administrators be filled by a senior, respected, male cricketer with administrative experience.

 

Let me in conclusion thank you for your courtesy and civility these past few months, and wish you and the Committee all the best in your future endeavours.

 

With best wishes,

 

Ramachandra Guha

 

It is reported Kohli and a few other Indian cricketers are not happy with Kumble’s style of functioning.

The alleged Virat Kohli versus Anil Kumble saga has a new twist as it is now reported that Kumble is unlikely to continue as Team India head coach post ICC Champions Trophy in England.

Kumble, who took over from Team India Director Ravi Shastri last year, was given a one-year contract which comes to an end at the conclusion of the ICC event in England. While Kumble has results on his side – only a series defeat across formats – the alleged differences of opinion with Kohli are likely to cut short his future as team’s head coach.

“The problem between Kumble and Kohli isn’t recent but has apparently been festering on for a while. The early signs were seen at the start of the England series in Rajkot in November last year. Not just Virat, we have been told that a few players are also not too happy with Kumble’s style of functioning. When the captain especially isn’t happy, then there is little that we or anybody from outside can do,” a report in Indian Express quoted a BCCI official as saying.

However, the same report quoted an unnamed member of COA criticising Kohli’s behaviour.

“Kohli is behaving like a spoilt child. The committee should be fair. Kumble has had great results and that should be a big factor when it comes to renewing his contract.”

While it is indicated that Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) and BCCI officials are finding ways to broker peace between the two, it seems unlikely that the former leg-spinner will continue as Team India head coach post Champions Trophy.

It was earlier indicated that Kumble and Kohli were not on a same page over the team selection for the third India versus Australia Test in Ranchi. While Kumble wanted to pick Kuldeep Yadav, Kohli was not in favour of the same. The young left-arm chinaman bowler made his debut in Dharamsala Test as Ajinkya Rahane led the team in absence of injured Kohli.

“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,” a BCCI official had earlier told The Hindu.

It was also reported that there were a number of cricketers who were not pleased with Kumble’s style of functioning.

“It’s just not the captain alone. A few months back, a bowler landed at the national cricket academy in Bangalore. Rest, recuperation, and some fitness work was on his mind. Some bit of bowling too. He was told he had to put in hours of bowling, get Test-match fit. He wasn’t initially keen but was told he had no choice. For what it’s worth, his bowling improved at the end of the stint. Sometimes, as a coach, you have to tread on fragile egos, be sensitive. A couple of players felt Kumble wasn’t,” said a report in the Indian Express.

The same report also quoted a source close to Indian team about Kohli’s apprehensions over Kumble.

“He (Kohli) would throw a word or two about what he thought about the new coach. You know, nothing bad, but there was enough there to realise he wasn’t sure or had some doubts. Kohli would have loved to have a team atmosphere like the one MS Dhoni had.”

A report in DNA also said that Kumble leaked private WhatsApp conversations with Team India cricketers to his friends in media.

“We’ve been told that there is a WhatsApp group created by Kumble of his few trusted media friends and few confidential talks between him and senior players were leaked through that,” a report in DNA quoted an unnamed senior BCCI official as saying.

Did Team India chief coach Anil Kumble leak some one-on-one conversations with senior players to a selective media?

Is captain Virat Kohli more comfortable with former team director Ravi Shastri than Kumble?

The answer to both the questions appear to be an emphatic yes. However, the big question is who is willing to step into the shoes of Kumble?

With the last date approaching fast (May 31) to apply for top cricket coaching job in India, nobody so far has shown interest in it. And it is unlikely Shastri will make any move going by the ugly spat between him and cricket advisory committee (CAC) member Sourav Ganguly the last time.

Going by insiders in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Kohli has made it clear that it would not be an easy task for anyone in the team to rebuild the same level of trust with Kumble.

The legendary leg-spinner had replaced Shastri as head coach before last year’s overseas series against the West Indies.

It is believed that the top officials of the BCCI top officials have been apprised by few seniors in the team that Kumble on more than one occasion has leaked “one-on-one” talks with senior players to his selective group of “friends in the media”.

A senior BCCI official said, “We’ve been told that there is a WhatsApp group created by Kumble of his few trusted media friends and few confidential talks between him and senior players were leaked through that.”

The situation came to such an extent that Kohli shot down Kumble’s suggestion to field Chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav during the third Test in Ranchi. Kumble is said to have forced stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane to rope in Yadav as the third spinner during the last Test against Australia in Dharamshala.

Who else then?

There are two names doing the rounds. One is former swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag. While the other is coach of India’s junior team Rahul Dravid. The names have apparently been floated by a member of Committee of Administrators, Ramachandra Guha.

However, the problem with Guha’s choice is that Dravid has been associated with an Indian Premier League team, Delhi Daredevils, and that rules him out because of the the Justice Lodha panel recommendations.

“At this highest level, a team needs a good man manager and not a great name. We’ve seen how a cricketing great like Greg Chappell literally created a friction in Team India during his tenure. We certainly don’t want that kind of situation and I hope the three-member CAC — Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly and VVS Laxman — would consider all these things before taking a final call,” said a senior official.

“Kohli and Kumble are both strong personalities and Indian cricket fans would certainly not want a situation like the old,” added the official.

Though, Sehwag has not reacted so far to the speculations but the pressure is still on him to at least send an email to the BCCI secretary.

COA’s could mediate

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that COA chief Vinod Rai might try to broker peace between Kumble and Kohli during his private visit to England in the first week of June.

“COA is apparently keen to have Kumble again but then Kohli’s opinion is also very critical,” said a source close to COA. “Rai is visiting London during the course of Champions Trophy and it is believed that he would speak to all the parties involved, including the CAC before the final interviews on June 5 and 6,” said the source, adding: “If no solution is found then expect a new coach on June 10.”

Sriram Veera’s report on Kohli-Kumble controversy in Indian Express of today has more  details. Read on

He is overbearing. LAST week, this text flashed on a BCCI official’s phone. It was said to be from Virat Kohli and it was about coach Anil Kumble. Rumblings in the BCCI corridor have begun once again. In another corner of the world, one man isn’t surprised.  As a coach, he had pushed and questioned Kohli about small things on and off the field: strategy, the team’s future. Small stuff. Kohli didn’t like it, and soon, the coach was out. “People generally don’t like being questioned and their shortcomings pointed out but I knew what I did was for his, and the team’s, well-being.” That was South African Ray Jennings, one of the first coaches that Kohli worked with at the IPL team in Bangalore. He was speaking to The Indian Express in January 2015, a year after he was sacked and days after Kohli was named Indian captain.

According to Jennings, it was Kohli who pushed for a change of coach. He says he got neither a phone call from Kohli nor a chat about the change in plan. Daniel Vettori replaced him — that was that.  “He is a very talented kid but sometimes thinks he is better than the game,” Jennings had said. He isn’t surprised now that there are problems surfacing between Kohli and Kumble. “I know both of them,” he told The Indian Express today. “Pretty headstrong gentlemen with conviction of their views. A conflict, I guess, wasn’t going to be surprising.”

However, Jennings is quick to point out one crucial factor in the relationship between a coach and a captain. “A hard coach can keep pushing and prodding the players of the team but the relationship between the captain and coach has to be good. The trust has to be there. The coach can have issues with the rest of the players but needs to have a smooth relationship with the captain for things to progress. And, as a captain, he has the right to work with people he is comfortable with and I have no complaints.” Here is where the Kohli-Kumble issue gets complicated.

Sources in the dressing room say that Kohli had apprehensions about Kumble right from the start. “He would throw a word or two about what he thought about the new coach. You know, nothing bad, but there was enough there to realise he wasn’t sure or had some doubts,” says a member of the Indian contingent. Perhaps, it was the ejection of Kohli’s man Ravi Shastri that he was finding hard to come to terms with.

Shastri wasn’t exactly a cheer-leading coach but he would always throw his weight behind the captain — talk him up, almost a best man of sorts. It was a relationship that Kohli had warmed up to. In fact, just before the interview process for the coach — where eventually Kumble got chosen — Shastri was very confident about his own chances because of this relationship he shared with the captain.

In fact, he was more concerned about the future of batting coach Sanjay Bangar and bowling coach Bharat Arun as he had heard rumours about them being viewed with scepticism in BCCI corridors. There was no self-doubt about his own place in Shastri’s mind. It was the cricket committee, and Sourav Ganguly, in particular, who effected a coup of sorts by installing Kumble.

Ironically, it’s they who are entrusted with the job to work out a patch-up between the two. During IPL 2 and 3 (2009-10) Kohli and Kumble worked at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Back then, even though Kohli was a rising star, there was no question about who was the real powerhouse. Kumble called the shots then but times have changed. Today, Kohli is the heavyweight and it doesn’t need an overbearing Greg Chappell to cross his lines.

It’s the small things, says a source. “It’s just not the captain alone. A few months back, a bowler landed at the national cricket academy in Bangalore. Rest, recuperation, and some fitness work was on his mind. Some bit of bowling too. He was told he had to put in hours of bowling, get Test-match fit. He wasn’t initially keen but was told he had no choice. For what it’s worth, his bowling improved at the end of the stint,” said a source.

There is another anecdote about a batsman who was injured and wanted to stay away. But it’s learnt Kumble wanted him to “toughen up” and play setting off some disquiet within. “Sometimes, as a coach, you have to tread on fragile egos, be sensitive. A couple of players felt Kumble wasn’t,” said a source.

There are a few others who say Kumble, with little tips and timely suggestions to bowlers during the Australia Test series, actually helped them get successes. So, as with most coaches, the stories are a mixed bag. A team member hits the sweet spot when he summarises the issue: “Kohli would have loved to have a team atmosphere like the one M S Dhoni had.”

Dhoni had the full backing of then BCCI president N Srinivasan and was an immovable object. When the Mohinder Amarnath-led committee wanted to sack him as captain, Srinivasan vetoed it. Dhoni had full command of the team, especially after the noise of the 2012 Australian series where some problems with a senior or two surfaced. Ever so gently, he oversaw the phasing out of veterans in the team.

Kohli might have sensed he had that kind of backing and support when Anurag Thakur was BCCI president. But with the Supreme Court stepping in and shaking up the system, he couldn’t press on with that advantage. It’s here that Jennings’s words find an echo. A coach can be at loggerheads with a few players in the team, can push them around, but he has to have a smooth relationship with the captain. That seems to be clear.

More so when there’s little doubt that Kohli is the leader of this team. There are no alternate power centre. Ajinkya Rahane might have led the team with great composure in the last Test against Australia but he isn’t a certainty in all formats. And there is no one else breathing down Kohli’s neck. R Ashwin has talked about how he is “ “leader without a title” and he is undoubtedly a man whose brains Kohli picks but it’s clear the board doesn’t view him as a captaincy candidate as of now.

In other words, this isn’t the era where anyone from Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, or even Tendulkar could have been the captain — it’s Kohli or bust. If Kumble is credited with successes at home, then one must give it first to the captain. No one is talking about Kohli being dropped or disciplined. In that scenario, it seems he automatically gets the upper hand over whoever is the coach. The cricket committee’s approach to first mend affairs is prudent but it’s easier said than done.

Much will depend on how Ganguly & Co. view the situation. Will they feel that Kohli can’t have untrammelled power and it’s better to have someone to keep him grounded? Or that Kohli, as captain, should be empowered to decide how to run the team? The questions are obvious, not the answers.

www.hrgcricstats.com brings you one more article on the controversy Kumble and the Indian team published in the cricket’s numero uno portal www.espncricinfo.com with its courtesy

India’s campaign for Champions Trophy has begun under a cloud of discontent within the dressing room with the captain, and possibly a few other senior players, expressing a lack of confidence in their head coach.

 

Speculation had been rife ever since the BCCI chose not to automatically extend the tenure of Anil Kumble as the head coach, choosing instead to advertise the position, and it has now emerged that the decision was made following feedback from Virat Kohli about Kumble’s coaching method, which he is said to have described as “intimidating”.

 

Kumble’s year-long contract expires at the end of the Champions Trophy. The development comes at less than an ideal time for India, with their first match in the Champions Trophy, against arch rivals Pakistan, just days away.

 

It is understood that Kohli relayed the sense of discontent to the BCCI’s top office bearers as well as the Committee of Administrators (CoA) before the team left for England. He is also understood to have spoken to Sourav Ganguly, who is part of the cricket advisory panel which has been tasked with deciding the coaching option.

 

The players’ concerns are thought to centre mainly around Kumble’s man-management skills. In the words of one official familiar with the details, Kumble has been conducting himself like a “headmaster” at a school. Such an approach, the official said, “had not gone down well” with the players who are used to a more relaxed dressing room. Some players – not the bigger personalities like Kohli or MS Dhoni – have felt “a bit intimidated” by Kumble’s approach.

 

Such has been the approach, the official said, that some of the injuries that have ruled players out during Kumble’s tenure were not strictly cricket related. “Kumble was pushing hard. The bulk of them [injuries] are non-cricketing injuries. One of the players was stressed out. So the team is not a happy lot.”

 

What has surprised the BCCI is that Kumble has failed to read these concerns. The official said that the reason Kumble has been successful was because “the team has been successful” playing cricket mostly at home. “The way the cricket set-up works in India is the coach is not the king. So the coach has to understand that.”

 

Based on the player feedback, the BCCI decided that the time to “change” had come and the “best” way to move forward was to put in place an advertisement inviting fresh applications. The official admitted that the timing was not ideal – the advertisement went out on the day Indian squad arrived in London to defend the Champions Trophy, and applications for the job close on the eve of the tournament opener – but he said the process had to followed.

 

The most telling public comments came from Kohli, who said last week he did not find anything untoward with what the BCCI was doing. “The process has been followed every single time the similar way in Indian cricket for the past so many years is what I know,” Kohli said at his first media briefing upon landing in England. “Even the last time the post was up for a change the same procedure was applied. With the term being one year, the procedure is being followed in the same manner. I don’t see anything very different from what has happened in the past. That is something the board has recognised. They want to follow the same pattern.”

 

Kohli was equivocal in his response to the success India have had under Kumble. “When you have results come your way, the contribution is from every part of the team,” he said. “It is not from a single source to say the least. Everyone works hard equally if not more than the other person.”

 

Kumble has not yet spoken publicly about the situation. He is, however, bound to be disappointed considering India have only lost one series in any format under his charge: the two-match Twenty20 series in Florida against West Indies last August. Kumble has also been front and centre in talks with the BCCI over enhancing the contracts not just of the national team’s players but also domestic players and Indian coaching staff.

 

The situation also puts three other Indian legends in an awkward position. It was only last June that Kumble was nominated by the three-man cricket advisory panel comprising his contemporaries, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman; Kumble wasn’t in the original shortlist of candidates the BCCI had finalised because he had no formal coaching experience. But it was at the panel’s insistence that he was put in. And now they have to go through the process again; it isn’t yet known if Kumble will go through the process again. Ganguly is currently in England, doing television commentary for the official broadcaster of the Champions Trophy.

 

At the time of Kumble’s appointment, the BCCI made out the contract for only a year saying that would give Kumble time to prove his coaching credentials. The former BCCI president Anurag Thakur had said that a review would be carried out after one year. Incidentally, Ajay Shirke, who was the BCCI secretary last June, had said that when the review was done, Kumble should find himself in the “driver’s seat” considering India were playing a long home season comprising 13 Tests and a couple of ODI series. Kumble might not be holding the steering wheel anymore.

 

Nagraj Gollapudi is a senior assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

 

This is an article published in The Hindu of today. www.hrgcricstats.com copies the article for the benefit of its netizens. 

Kumble had replaced Ravi Shastri as Head Coach before last year’s overseas series against the West Indies.

Has India captain Virat Kohli taken cudgels against Head Coach Anil Kumble?

The answer, seems to be an emphatic yes.

Kohli, India captain across all formats, is believed to have told those running day-to-day cricketing affairs in India that all is not well with the team and the former India captain.

Kumble had replaced Ravi Shastri as Head Coach before last year’s overseas series against the West Indies.

Observers following the fortunes of the Indian team since last July believe that Kohli and Kumble are strong cricket personalities and that a clash between them was waiting to happen any time.

The BCCI, kept abreast of the personality clash, even asked Virender Sehwag to apply for the coach’s job during the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai.

The ‘Prince of Najafgarh’ seems to have expressed no interest in the proposal. “It was virtually offering the Head Coach position to him,’’ said an official.

BCCI officials tracking the long home international season are not sure whether the fissure in the team harmony began to widen when left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav played the last Test against Australia at Dharamshala (India was led by Ajinkya Rahane for the injured Kohli). It is understood that Kumble’s proposal to field Yadav in the third Test at Ranchi was shot down by Kohli.

An official said: “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.”

The Indian team members were invited for the premiere of ‘Sachin: A Billion Dreams’ on May 24 and observers believe that Kohli may have even spoken to Sachin Tendulkar about the declining relationship between the team and Kumble.

And, the BCCI invited applications for the post of Head Coach on May 25

This article is penned by G Viswanath of  The  Hindu. Article posted on the portal courtesy – “The Hindu”