The huddle in the middle is over and the allegations and counter allegations between the coach and Indian team captain was blown out of proportion. After all the hype, hoopla and hysteria about the number one Indian side going in the air, now we find India coach Anil Kumble quits as head coach and the fire is making way for trouble in Team India. Feud with captain Virat Kohli seems to have brought a bitter end to a highly successful tenure. Kumble was shown the door to accommodate an arrogant skipper manipulating things for his own whims and fancies. At last the mudslinging is over and now there is no need to wash dirty linen in public.
Kumble was left in the lurch with thin majority and BCCI proved its image as the Board of Cricketing Controversies in India. Instead of ending the feud at a very early stage, with its intervention, the board game was played to see an anti-climax of coach quitting the game once for all. The West Indies tour offer for the coach was just an eye wash and the matter precipitated before the Champions Trophy 2017 final. Now the feud has come full circle and a crisis has been developed within the team for no fault of the coach. BCCI is sulking under pressure, Kohli carries his traditional arrogance and the Indian cricket suffers for ever.
The chronological sequence of events revealed that the Coach and the Captain were not seeing eye to eye most of the time and rift widened up to make the matters worse. Kumble-Kohli rift came in open and it is time to reveal dressing room secrets and tell their part of the story. Kumble’s decision to step down is a clear indication as he revealed that Kohli had in fact been the reason behind his decision. Dhoni managed things in a meaningful manner throughout his career as captain, whereas Kohli could not carry on with an efficient coach even for a year and the huddle of the team saw a big pit dug by the skipper to bring in factions in a team game like cricket.
We have seen how Ganguly was adamant and having a tumultuous relationship with the then coach Greg Chappell. He formed groupism within the team to oust Chappell. Like Kumble, his winning streak as coach ran for 16 one day games on the trot while chasing. We saw at the Oval, the team choked while chasing and touched 150 plus total. Ganguly even refused to play the Nagpur test against Australia after seeing the wicket and Harbhajan Singh joined his captain in walking off from the playing eleven.
Sunny Gavaskar played high level politics as captain as well player in the Indian Team. In the 1975 World cup inaugural match against England, the Indian opener made 36 not out in 174 balls in a one day game and spoiled the image of both the captain and the manager. Instead of axing Gavaskar thereafter he was made captain and survived long doing all tantrums on and off the field on regular basis.
The biggest victim was Srinivas Venkatraghavan. He was made Captain of the Delhi Test in the 1975-76 test series against the West Indies and in the next test at Calcutta he was relegated to 12th man status. Kohli was considered and picked up as lucky captain at home. Once the tables turn on overseas tours to follow, he will get the axe like other captains. That is the curse of Indian captains. After a dramatic draw at the Oval in 1979, captain Venkatraghavan was removed and Sunil Gavaskar was made captain and the announcement was made by the pilot of the plane taking the players back home.
Cricketing controversies is common in Indian cricket and this time coach-captain feud had gone on wire and made history. The Indian captains making winning moves only at home always boast themselves and make mockery of cricket when they tour overseas. In the past, we heard captain quitting the game after a huge loss. But as in football, Kumble laid his post in haste for no fault of his. A coach can teach the players from outside and it is up to the players to perform on the field.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
