A day after reports emerged of a rift in the Indian cricket team between coach Anil Kumble and senior players led by Virat Kohli, separate reports from Indian Express and Times of India on Wednesday provided more details about the source of the impasse.
The Times of India report quoted an unnamed official from the Board of Control for Cricket in India saying that the players, under Kumble, have not been able to speak their minds as much as they want to, an approach that has not pleased captain Kohli. “You can’t treat the players like Under-19 cricketers,” the BCCI official was quoted as saying. “They know their jobs well. He should listen to the players more.”
The Indian Express reported that a BCCI official had received a text message from Kohli, in which the skipper said Kumble was “overbearing”. The report quoted a source in the dressing room as saying, “He would throw a word or two about what he thought about the new coach. You know, nothing bad, but there was enough there to realise he wasn’t sure or had some doubts.”
According to the reports, the matter is not just restricted to Kohli and Kumble. The TOI report stated that Kumble and his coaching staff’s plan to have a conditioning camp after the Test series against England was immediately shot down by the Indian captain, who said the players were already in the middle of a hectic season.
Additionally, the Indian Express quoted an unnamed source saying it wasn’t just about Kohli alone. “A few months back, a bowler landed at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Rest, recuperation, and some fitness work was on his mind. Some bit of bowling too. He was told he had to put in hours of bowling, get Test-match fit. He wasn’t initially keen but was told he had no choice. For what it’s worth, his bowling improved at the end of the stint.”
Another incident was also referred to, about an injured batsman who wanted to rest but was forced to play by Kumble. “Sometimes, as a coach, you have to tread on fragile egos, be sensitive,” the official said. “A couple of players felt Kumble wasn’t.”
As reported on Tuesday, the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav for the fourth India-Australia Test in Dharamsala was also a sore point between the coach and the captain. However, another BCCI official defended Kumble. “Kumble is doing his bit to keep things together,” the official told TOI. “It was the board and the cricket committee members who took the decision to keep him and he has proved his worth. The team has won everything ever since he joined them. So on what ground should he be removed? Misunderstandings happen in every team.”