What Happened To Anil Kumble Was Sad, Very sad: Sunil Gavaskar

The story:

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has once again expressed his disappointment over the manner in which Anil Kumble‘s coaching came to an end. In fact, the legendary batsman said that Kumble was humiliated before suggesting that no top player would want to apply for India head coach’s post following the episode that led to Kumble resigning from the post.

“What happened to Anil Kumble was sad, very sad indeed. The Indian cricket legend was humiliated to say the least. No top player will want to throw his hat in the ring after what happened to Kumble. It is clear that the Indian players want people who sit back and do nothing rather than go-getters who get results,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar Live.

The background:

Kumble, who was roped in as the coach in June last year, has had a very successful stint with the Indian team. Under him, Virat Kohli & Co. did really well in all the three formats since Kumble took charge in June last year. Under him, India reached the pinnacle of the ICC Test rankings, after winning series against West Indies, New Zealand, England, Australia and Bangladesh at home. He also guided the team to the limited-over series win over New Zealand and England in addition to the runners-up finish in the just-concluded ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

However, India’s highest wicket-taker in Tests decided to part ways with the Indian team after being told of captain Virat Kohli’s reservations overs his style of functioning.

‘Kumble could have stuck around’:

Kumble’s departure brought an end to the episode that had begun with reports of a rift between him and Kohli during the buildup of the Champions Trophy. But despite the reports of unrest, Gavaskar felt that Kumble would have continued. However, it became next to impossible for him after he realised that several players including the captain were not happy with his functioning.

“Kumble could have also stuck around, but in an atmosphere where the skipper and maybe others in the team did not like his method of operating it would have been a tense situation every single hour. While Kumble, in his letter, has expressed that he was not aware of the skipper’s feelings about his coaching style until the BCCI informed him, Kohli has chosen not to elaborate. He just said that dressing room matters should be left in the dressing room and not brought in the public domain,” Gavaskar said.

What next for Team India:

The team is currently playing in West Indies without a coach but the next coach is likely to be at the helm ahead of next month’s Sri Lanka series. As of now, BCCI has extended the deadline for the submission of applications of the coach and the new applicants will join the already 5 shortlisted candidates- Virender Sehwag, Dodda Ganesh, Lalchand Rajput, Tom Moody and Richard Pybus.