Kohli-Kumble Fallout

Inside story on Kumble's exit as Team India Coach and hunt for the next Head Coach begins    

A captain-coach saga is not new for Indian cricket. Remember the summer of 2005, India's tour of Zimbabwe, when Sourav Ganguly's removal as the captain of the side by then newly appointed coach Greg Chappell, as he wanted Sourav to solely concentrate on his batting, had triggered an uproar not only in the cricketing circuit but the ripple effects could be seen on the streets of Kolkata, Ganguly's hometown and also became a topic of discussion in the Parliament of India. The anger among the public was evident from the fact that the demand for Chappell's resignation from the position of Team India's coach had gone high.

Twelve years have passed since that infamous incident, rift between the current Indian Captain Virat Kohli and head coach Anil Kumble had taken shape at the worst possible time for Indian Cricket when the team was preparing to defend their Champions Trophy crown. Kohli as we all know, possesses a very dynamic personality. The exuberance is quite evident from the way he conducts himself on the field and he is someone who will not think twice before taking up a challenge against the opposition. On the other hand, Anil Kumble, with all his experience and calm demeanour, commands respect from everyone. His soft spoken nature and towering personality is something everyone in the international arena, admires. He is a hard taskmaster and a no-nonsense individual.

When two individuals work together towards a common goal, it's quite possible that differences in opinions would arise and they wouldn't agree to each other's views on all fronts. Here, with Virat and Anil Kumble, we are talking about two very strong individuals who don't shy away from sharing their views on different matters. What actually led to the rift is hard to predict but from the hindsight, it seems as if cultural differences might be the root cause which had triggered the conflict. Anil Kumble played in a generation, starting from 1990 till 2012,  where the game initially was not fast paced, the psychology of the players in those times, were different from what the current crop of players have. 

Now the game has changed significantly. As days have gone by, it has become more and more commercialized and with the advent of T20, players have become fearless, which gets rubbed off in ODIs as well. 

Conservative approach has given way to flamboyance and here's where, the feeling arises that may be Virat Kohli had reservations against Kumble's style of working with the boys. The young crop of players want freedom and a go as you like approach. The discipline and sincerity which Kumble demands from his players in all respects, seemed to have come in the way of the players' carefree attitude. 

Now with the coach's position vacant, BCCI has invited applications for the post which is expected to be filled before the team embarks on the tour of Sri Lanka in July. The contenders, who have applied for the post are Virender Sehwag, Dodda Ganesh, Lalchand Rajput, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus and Anil Kumble himself. As far as coaching experience is concerned, everyone except Ganesh has first hand knowledge about how to go about in doing the job. 

Virender Sehwag was Kings XI Punjab's mentor in this year's Indian Premier League. 

Lalchand Rajput was Team India's manager at the inaugural ICC World T20 Campaign in South Africa in 2007, where India had emerged victorious under the leadership of MS Dhoni. 

Tom Moody had been an international coach previously for Sri Lanka and he recently coached the Sunrisers Hyderabad side in the IPL. 

Richard Pybus had been the coach of the Pakistan team and also for the Bangladesh side.

MY VIEWS

The main aspect which the Cricket Advisory Committee needs to ensure before setting out to pick the next coach of the Indian Team, is that there should be clear cut communication between captain Virat Kohli and the person appointed as coach. In order to avoid another Kohli-Kumble fallout, the agendas have to be set for the two individuals that they need to respect each other's viewpoints and should in a mature manner, deal with any sort of differences that might arise, keeping in mind the well-being of Indian Cricket as a whole and there can be no better group of mentors than that of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman who have seen it all through their glorious careers spanning over decades and put the focus back on cricket. Open conflict between two individuals at responsible positions doesn't do any good to the morale of the side. Hopefully better and brighter days are ahead for Indian cricket.