Ex-Team India manager Ratnakar Shetty has revealed details on Anil Kumble's decision to step down as India head coach in 2017. It was said that the then India captain Virat Kohli was not pleased with Kumble's attitude.
Back in 2017, after losing the ICC Champion Trophy final to Pakistan, the Indian team had departed for the West Indies tour, but Kumble stayed back in London to perform his duties as head of ICC’s Cricket Committee. Later in the evening, he resigned from the role, stating that there was a misunderstanding between him and the captain.
Shetty, in his book 'On Board: Test.Trial.Triumph. My years in BCCI', wrote that the conversation regarding Kumble's exit had started months before. He was informed about it by former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag in a meeting during the IPL match.
"The events leading up to the resignation of Anil Kumble as coach of the men’s team after the ICC Champions Trophy final in June 2017 showcased the murkiness that had steadily crept into the corridors of the Cricket Centre.
"I happened to meet Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar at the Wankhede Stadium, on the eve of an IPL game between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab, in the second week of May. I was taken aback when Viru informed me that Dr Sridhar had advised him to apply for the position of the coach of the Indian team," he wrote.
Shetty recalled how Kumble was shocked when BCCI's Committee of Administrators (CoA) held a meeting a day before the IPL final in 2017 and spoke about finding a new head coach.
"I flew to Hyderabad a few days later for the IPL final. The game was preceded by a meeting of the CoA. Anil and Virat Kohli, who by then had become the all-format captain, were to make a presentation on the way forward for Indian cricket, at this meeting. Both Vinod Rai and Diana Edulji (Committee of Administrators) were attending. Anil was present physically, while Virat was to participate virtually.
"Rai then asked me what process had been followed by the Board to appoint a coach for the national team in 2016. What happened next was shocking. Rai said in front of the entire gathering, Anil included, that the same process would have to be repeated soon! Anil was stunned and so was I.
"I remembered my conversation with Viru in May and told Anil about it. Surely, Dr Sridhar would not have told Viru to apply of his own volition," he added.
The former Team India manager agreed that Kohli wasn't happy with Kumble, as the latter was creating a tense atmosphere in the dressing room. "It was obvious that some people did not want Anil to continue as coach. The captain and coach did not appear to be on the same wavelength and it seemed that the captain had the upper hand. I learned later about a meeting that took place in London before the final of the Champions Trophy, which we lost to Pakistan.
"This meeting was attended by Virat, Anil, Johri, Amitabh Choudhary, and Dr Sridhar. Apparently, Virat was not happy with Anil ‘for not standing up for the players and creating a tense atmosphere in the dressing room’, among other things."
Under Kumble's tenure, India played 17 Test matches, out of which they won 12 and lost 1 match.
