Kumble points finger at Kohli, says captain had problems with style of coaching

Photo: AFP

New Delhi: Putting an end to all the speculations about him and captain Virat Kohli, Anil Kumble said the primary reason for his decision to step down was the India captain’s reservation about his coaching style.

“I was informed by the BCCI for the first time yesterday that the captain had reservations about my ‘style’ and about my continuing as the Head coach,” said Kumble after stepping down.

Kumble in a heartfelt tweet did not forget to thank the Indian team, support staff and Kohli for their role in India’s success under his tenure. 

“The credits for the achievements of last one year go to the captain, the entire team, coach and support staff,”  

The former India leg spinner’s term ended on June 19 but the Committee of Administrators (CoA) with the go-ahead from Cricket Advisory Committee decided to give an extension to Kumble till the West Indies tour, which is slated to begin from June 23.

Thank you! pic.twitter.com/eF5qVzdBRj

— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) June 20, 2017

Kumble, who had remained tight-lipped throughout the entire episode, offered his resignation after the team boarded the Caribbean-bound flight. Kumble opted not to travel with the team despite having a confirmed flight ticket.

Making it clear that the captain-coach relation came to a unresolved point, Kumble believed it was the correct time to draw the curtains down on his wonderful one-year stint.

“Though the BCCI attempted to resolve the misunderstandings between the captain and me but the partnership was untenable and I therefore believe it is best for me to move on.” 

Notably, during the entire Champions Trophy, there was hardly any communication between the two during the practice sessions with Kumble mostly keeping to himself or giving some practice to the bowlers.

The team did well under Kumble in the past 12 months, winning Test series in the West Indies (2-0) before winning at home against New Zealand (3-0), England (4-0), Bangladesh (1- 0) and Australia (2-1).

The team won eight ODIs and lost five during the 46- year-old's tenure.

Kumble also believed the Cricket Advisory Committee comprising of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman would chose the best possible replacement.