Kumble Steps Down as Head Coach of Team India

Former India player Anil Kumble has officially stepped down as the coach of the Indian Cricket team. It was no secret that captain Virat Kohli and Kumble rarely saw eye to eye and Kohli had a preference for Ravi Shastri as a coach. He did not accompany the team to West Indies, but instead he opted to attend an ICC meeting, presumably to hand in his resignation. Kumble’s contract expired at the conclusion of the Champions Trophy, but was given an extension for the West Indies tour.

The tensions between Kumble and Kohli escalated to such an extent that an advisory panel comprising of VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly had to be formed to broker peace between the two parties. A certain section of the BCCI wanted Kumble to stay on until the 2019 World Cup but were made aware that Kohli and the team were not comfortable under his wing. The war of words began during the India-Australia series where they disagreed on various fronts. The last straw for Kohli was when Kumble drafted in Kuldeep Yadav to replace and injured Kohli for the Dharamsala Test, a decision allegedly taken without Kohli’s knowledge.