Instead of change in Team’s India’s squad after Champions Trophy debacle we saw the coach quitting his job after a feud with the skipper. The drama inside the dressing room came to light and the number one test side faced a ticklish situation. So, the team to West Indies left without a regular coach and now the blame game and the use of twitter handle all show where the problem remains in a team game like cricket.
The fight between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble, who stepped down as coach got uglier with each passing day. Six months of feud brewing resulting in quitting of coach on the eve of West Indies tour and that brought disrepute to the sagging spirit of the Indian team. The captain instead of just brushing away the episode as a passing wind, went on to delete his tweet of 2016 welcoming the coach to add salt to the wound. Kohli is trying to follow all the arrogant methods to show his displeasure and the six month period increased the animosity of their ill-fated relationship.
After stepping down, Kumble posted on Twitter saying that his relationship with Kohli has reached such a point of no return. Kumble and Kohli were at loggerheads and it was a second incident after Ganguly-Greg Chappell spat. Then also Chappel left India abruptly and Ganguly was supported by the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and that was after the 2007 World cup debacle in West Indies. Perhaps, parochial, regional and linguistic tendencies have permeated the national cricket team. That’s why Anil Kumble is disliked by many in Team India. Politics and ego clash take centrestage at all levels when self-interest surmounts national interest.
The 2016 tweet welcoming the Indian Team coach went in this line:
Heartiest welcome to @anilkumble1074 Anil Kumble Sir. Look forward to your tenure with us. Great things in store for Indian Cricket with you,” What Kohli had written is a thing of the past as the same is deleted once for all. The friction is hotting up despite the coach handing over his papers to the controversial board. Kohli eventually had the veto power on the coach issue which pushed Kumble out. After Kumble’s exit its time for Kohli to deliver.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
