‘Kumble felt he was unfairly treated’

Anil Kumble felt that he was treated “unfairly” and forced to resign as head coach of the Indian team but then skipper Virat Kohli opined that players were not happy with his “intimidating” style of enforcing discipline, according to former Committee of Administrators head Vinod Rai.

In his recently published book ‘Not Just A Nightwatchman: My Innings with BCCI’, published by ‘Rupa’, Rai touched upon various issues that he dealt with during his 33-month tenure.

One of the issues and perhaps the most controversial, was when Kohli complained about his breakdown of relationship with Kumble, who announced his resignation publicly just after Champions Trophy in 2017. Kumble was handed a one-year contract in 2016.

“In my conversations with the captain and team management, it was conveyed that Kumble was too much of a disciplinarian and hence the team members were not too happy with him,” Rai has written in his book.

“I had spoken to Virat Kohli on the issue and he did mention that the younger members of the team felt intimidated by the way he worked with them.”

Rai reveals that the then Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman had recommended Kumble’s re-appointment.

“Soon, the CAC met in London and interacted with the two separately in a bid to resolve the issue. After deliberations over three days, they decided to recommend Kumble’s reappointment as the head coach.” However it was evident from what followed was that Kohli’s point of view was given more respect and hence Kumble’s position became untenable.

“We had long conversations with Kumble after he had returned from the UK. He was obviously upset about the manner in which the entire episode had panned out. He felt he had been unfairly treated and a captain or team should not be given so much importance.

“It was the duty of the coach to bring discipline and professionalism into the team and as a senior, his views should have been respected by the players.” Rai also wrote that Kumble felt that more credence was given to following protocols and process and less emphasis was laid on how the team performed under his guidance. “It is indeed very prudent of captain Kohli to have maintained a dignified silence. Any utterance from him would have set off a fusillade of opinions. “Kumble, on his part, too, kept to himself and did not go public on any issue that had transpired. That was the most mature and dignified manner of dealing with a situation which could have become unpleasant for all parties involved.” (Agencies)