Four days after the Board of Control for Cricket in India invited applicants for the head coach position, there are reports that all is not well between Anil Kumble and the Indian players.
Kumble, who was appointed head coach in June last year, has reportedly fallen out of favour with the players because of his “overbearing” attitude, according to a report by India Today. The players have complained about a lack of freedom under Kumble, added the report on Monday.
Watch the report here:
Kumble’s contract runs out at the end of the Champions Trophy in June and the Indian board, on Thursday, had posted a job opening, asking interested candidates to submit their applications by May 31. The BCCI, though, stated that Kumble “will be a direct entry for the [selection] process”. Inital reports suggested that the board was unhappy with the former leg-spinner for spearheading the negotiations for a pay-rise for the cricketers.
The reported tiff between Kumble and players comes at a time when India are in England for their Champions Trophy campaign, which began with a convincing win over New Zealand in a warm-up match on Sunday. In a separate report on Sunday, the Indian Express added that the dressing room’s unhappiness with the coach has been conveyed to the Committee of Administrators, but the reasons for the rift have not been put on paper.
Captain Virat Kohli, for his part, said that BCCI is only following due process by inviting fresh applications for chief coach’s post. When asked specifically about Kumble’s contribution, Kohli said that when a team does well, it is due to the equal contribution from all and sundry.
“Obviously, when you have results come your way, the contribution is from every part of the team. It’s not from a single source, to say the least. Everyone works hard equally, if not more than the other person,” he added.
The Supreme Court-ordered Lodha Commitee meanwhile lashed out at BCCI for inviting applications despite Kumble’s impressive work over the past year, reported Times of India on Monday.
Gopal Sankaranarayanan, secretary of the Lodha Committee, slammed the BCCI, picking out the board awarding short-term contracts to coach as a “ludicrous” procedure,
“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,” Sankaranarayanan had said.
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