The Indian Express on Thursday quoted an unnamed member of the Committee of Administrators criticising Indian captain Virat Kohli about his alleged rift with head coach Anil Kumble.
Backing Kumble, the COA member said, “Kohli is behaving like a spoilt child. The committee should be fair. Kumble has had great results and that should be a big factor when it comes to renewing his contract.”
However, the newspaper reported that chances of Kumble extending his tenure seemed impossible since the differences between him and Kohli were “long-standing and almost irrevocable”.
“The problem between Kumble and Kohli isn’t recent but has apparently been festering on for a while,” a board official was quoted as saying. “The early signs were seen at the start of the England series in Rajkot in November last year. Not just Virat, we have been told that a few players are also not too happy with Kumble’s style of functioning. When the captain especially isn’t happy, then there is little that we or anybody from outside can do.”
Another source was quoted as saying, “Barring a minor miracle, I don’t see Kumble continuing.”
On the other hand, a report in the Times of India said there had been a “lukewarm response” to the BCCI’s advertisement for a new coach, the last date of which was Wednesday. The report quoted Pravin Amre, a former Indian batsman, who had been one of the applicants last year, but had not applied this time. “It was an open race last time,” Amre was quoted as saying. “This time, the situation isn’t correct. Anil has done well for the team and I don’t feel that I should apply.”
According to the report, Ravi Shastri has not applied for the job either while there was no confirmation if Australia’s Tom Moody had applied for the position. While Virender Sehwag was also reportedly approached for the job, New Zealand and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s coach Daniel Vettori is also reportedly in the fray.
