Hours after Anil Kumble stepped down as the Indian cricket team’s head coach because of his “untenable” relationship with captain Virat Kohli, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar called it “a really sad day for Indian cricket”. Gavaskar said that Kumble had done a brilliant job as coach in his year-long stint with the team.
“I have very little knowledge about the differences between Virat and Anil,” Gavaskar said to NDTV. “But it is a really sad day for Indian cricket. India have won everything since the time Anil took over. I can’t see Anil doing much wrong in one year. Difference happen in any team but see the results.”
The team has performed exceptionally well under Kumble in the past 12 months, winning Test series in the West Indies (2-0) before winning at home against New Zealand (3-0), England (4-0), Bangladesh (1- 0) and Australia (2-1). The team won eight ODIs and lost five under Kumble’s tenure.
Gavaskar also came down heavily on the players who had an issue with Kumble’s approach. Reports in the media had said that some players found Kumble to be “overbearing”. Gavaskar said that the complaining players should be “left out of the team”.
“So you want softies,” Gavaskar said. “You want somebody to just tell you, ‘Okay boys, don’t practice today because you guys are not feeling well, okay take a holiday, go shopping.’ You want that kind of a person. If somebody is a hard taskmaster and he has got you results like Anil Kumble has got over the last one year... If any of the players are complaining, I feel those players are the ones who should be left out of the team.”
However, Gavaskar was perplexed as to why Kumble did not retaliate to his ouster. “Anil must have had his reasons [for resigning]. I would have thought Anil would carry on. Once the CAC [Cricket Advisory Committee] expressed their confidence in him, Anil should have stuck around. Hope he will take it on the chin and comes back stronger. But it is the first time a known fighter like Anil did not stand up.”
He added, “I know that the CAC met Virat and had a very long session with him. Anil’s experience as a player and as an administrator needs to be utilised. CAC should be doing more for Indian cricket than just selecting the coach.”
Former India opener Aakash Chopra said the situation could have been handled better. “[The coach selection process] should have been done after the home season and not just before the Champions Trophy. It could have been handled better but that is how the cookie has crumbled.”
Other cricketers also weighed in on the matter on social media:
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