Anil Kumble Likely To Play Another Innings As The Head Coach, But On A Wicket Of Uncertainty.

What’s the news?

Kohli-Kumble and the controversy conundrum, this statement pretty much describes the disease Indian cricket is currently plagued with. The entire scenario kept taking a turn for the worse, coiling itself into a puzzle; however it seems the game has finally come to an end.

The acting BCCI president C.K Khanna has penned a letter to acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary, urging him to hold the process of selection of India’s head coach till the end of India’s tour of West Indies.

“I have written a letter to the secretary asking him to defer the recruitment process till June 26 when BCCI’s SGM will be held. At this point in time, it will not be prudent to carry on with the process when India is playing a tournament. Whether it is Anil Kumble retained or anyone else roped in, whoever gets the job will be given a contract till 2019 World Cup,” Khanna told PTI.

In fact the IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla has also voiced a similar opinion.

What’s even more interesting is that the advisory committee is Keen on retaining Kumble as the head coach. The CAC comprising of Sachin Tednulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly are torn between two opinions, as removing Kumble and replacing him with another name would mean that the set up has bowed down to the superstar culture which has come under dire criticism recently. The move does not guarantee that such a rift cannot take place with another captain-coach combination, and it will be difficult for the new man selected to replicate Kumble’s glorious run.

But in cricket it is the captain who calls the majority of shots, he’s the teams face and stands up to take responsibility of a loss, and appreciate performances during a win. Disagreeing to Kohli will be disrespecting the captain’s authority and his choice for the team.

Tied in such a dilemma the CAC have chosen to play a peace-maker and give Kumble some more time. The three legends are probably of the view that resolving the issue and altering Kumble’s mannerisms might just work out. After all it will be illogical of them to kick out their colleague after such a successful campaign on the basis of a brawl which was blown of out of proportion by the media.

In case you missed it

It all began with Kumble’s presentation on revised salary structures of players to the CoA, the demands and suggestions made by him didn’t go too well with a section of the BCCI members. There were already reports that a few top officials are disappointed with Kumble approaching the CoA for various matters, the presentation just added fuel to fire.

Post the IPL the BCCI released a statement inviting applications for the position of head coach of the men’s team. While this was termed as a ‘usual’ process by the BCCI, stating that Kumble’s contract was only for a year’s duration and that he will be a direct entry in the process for selection of the coach.

While the BCCI tried its best to convince everyone about the normalcy of the process, it never seemed reasonable to invite fresh applicants when the existing coach has had a stellar run and deserves an extension. And to clear all the doubts there began an outbreak of news suggesting a rift between the Indian captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble. That the captain and a few players weren’t happy with Kumble’s task master approach, that he was too bossy and this outbreak only continued.

A recent statement by one of the many BCCI officials who have been leaking rumors, news or inside talks whatever you may call it, throughout the saga living under the ‘one who shall not be named’ roof, suggested that as many as 10 players from the Virat Kohli led side aren’t happy with Anil Kumble and his approach.

However the two involved have been continuously denying any issue the speculation hasn’t died down, but the recent move by the BCCI president and the opinions of the CAC wise-heads seems to have put the issue to rest.