22 June,2017 04:53 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The recent events surrounding Anil Kumble's departure as India's head coach allegedly due to a rift with skipper Virat Kohli raises an imporant question: Is the Cricket Advisory Committee truly a powerful body?
Virat Kohli, Ganguly, Laxman, Tendulkar
India's captain Virat Kohli (L) walks past coach Anil Kumble during a training session at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on February 22, 2017. AFP Photo
The recent events surrounding Anil Kumble's departure as Team India's head coach allegedly due to a rift with captain Virat Kohli raises an imporant question: Is the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) truly a powerful body?
According to a report by DNA, why didn't the committee comprising of cricket legends with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman not put its foot down and tell Virat Kohli to carry on with Anil Kumble as India's head coach?
Anil Kumble's ouster as Team India's head coach due to Virat Kohli's apparent disapproval of his methods, can also be seen as a fitting reply to the CAC and the body's earlier decision to appoint Kumble as head coach.
Ganguly, Laxman and Tendulkar. Pic/ AFP
The Indian cricket team is currently in West Indies without a head coach, just as it was in Zimbabwe a year ago, which was between the World T20 and Anil Kumble's appointment.
Also view photos - Virat Kohli vs Anil Kumble: The rift that led to Jumbo's departure
Also, one of the members of BCCI's three-man Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) met as many as 10 players during the recent Champions Trophy to seek feedback on head coach, and not even one player was in favour of Anil Kumble continuing on the job.
Sources also said some players had even stopped following established protocol implemented by Anil Kumble during his reign as coach.
Virat Kohli may have refused to admit that India buckled under pressure against Pakistan in Sunday's Champions Trophy final here at The Oval, but he might be the first to admit that it was the demands of coach Anil Kumble that led to the fallout between the two.
Kumble, who quit as head coach on Tuesday, was apparently putting the players under the pump far too much and reportedly had 'unrealistic' expectations which created a negative vibe in the dressing room.
The BCCI top brass had an inkling that all was not well but they were taken aback when they came to know that captain Virat Kohli and chief coach Anil Kumble were not in talking terms for the 'last six months'.
Post the ICC Champions Trophy final, there were three separate meetings at the Indian team's hotel. The first was where Kumble met the BCCI top brass and members of CAC followed by Kohli meeting them. The last and the most 'eventful' meeting was when Kohli and Kumble were made to sit across the table. Apparently, the talks failed completely as there was no communication.
Which again brings back the question as to why were the legendary members of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), unsuccessful in convincing Kohli to respect authority and make him mend his apparent differences with Anil Kumble?
The CAC will now go through applications to select Anil Kumble's successor as head coach, who could be preferred by Virat Kohli.
