"Virat was not happy with Anil for not standing up for the players" - Ratnakar Shetty in memoir 

Former Team India manager Ratnakar Shetty has claimed in his memoir "On Board" that Virat Kohli was unhappy with Anil Kumble “for not standing up for the players and creating a tense atmosphere in the dressing room”.

Kumble had a short stint as Team India coach for a year. He resigned from the post in 2017, following the side’s defeat in the Champions Trophy final to Pakistan. While stepping down, Kumble wrote in his resignation letter that Kohli had reservations about his style and that the partnership was “untenable”.

In his memoir, excerpts of which were published by The Indian Express, Shetty stated that “some people” did not want Kumble to continue as coach. He wrote:

“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 learnt later about a meeting that took place in London before the final of the Champions Trophy, which we lost to Pakistan. 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.”

According to Shetty, the events leading up to the resignation of Kumble “showcased the murkiness that had steadily crept into the corridors of the Cricket Centre.” The former Team India administrator recalled that Virender Sehwag had been advised to apply for the position of coach of the Indian team. Shetty said:

“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.”

Writing about a meeting of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) before the IPL final, Shetty said that he was asked what process had been followed by the Board to appoint a coach for the national team in 2016. He wrote:

“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.”

Shetty continued:

“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.”

Ravi Shastri was appointed as coach following Kumble’s resignation. His stint ended following India’s exit from the T20 World Cup 2021.

“The timing of some dismissals was weird: Ratnakar Shetty on why Tendulkar was frustrated as captain

Former India captain Sachin Tendulkar. Pic: Getty Images

In another chapter in his memoir, Shetty said that Sachin Tendulkar was extremely frustrated during his stint as captain since he could sense everything was not right in Indian cricket. Tendulkar took over the captaincy from Mohammad Azharuddin in 1996. The former team manager wrote about that period:

“Having spent a lot of time with Sachin in Sri Lanka, I had sensed that he was disturbed. He wasn’t enjoying the captaincy and I was by no means the only individual who felt that all wasn’t well. There were times when information pertaining to the trajectory of games that we were yet to play, would reach us and leave us wondering. The timing of some dismissals, especially in the ODIs, was weird, to say the least."

Shetty added that Tendulkar, the coach, and him wanted to brief the senior office-bearers of the Board about these incidents and seek their inputs on the future course of action after returning to India. He wrote:

"We sought an appointment with Rajbhai (Raj Singh Dungarpur), as the Board president was known. “Sachin and I went to meet Rajbhai and (Jaywant) Lele. We discussed the tour, the Rashid Latif interview and the rumours that had been doing the rounds.”

He added that he was shocked to receive a call from Azharuddin to inquire about the meeting. Shetty said:

“Imagine my shock then to receive a call later that night from none other than Azharuddin, enquiring about our meeting with the BCCI president and secretary. The entire purpose of the meeting had been defeated. I called Mr Dalmiya and told him that henceforth, no manager would be frank with the Board. Unfortunately, it took a while — three more years, to be precise — for people to realise that the ineptitude of some of the players was deliberate.”

In 2000, Azharuddin, among others, was banned for his role in match-fixing. However, the Andhra Pradesh High court lifted the ban on the former captain in 2012.