BCCI top officials to fly down to England and hold damage control talks with Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble

What’s the story?

Amid rising reports of disharmony in the Indian camp between the players led by skipper Virat Kohli and the head coach Anil Kumble, the top officials of the BCCI are likely to meet the duo separately in England in an attempt to sort out the differences of opinions.

While fingers were initially pointed out at the BCCI and the CoA (Committee of Administrators) when reports first broke out that India was set to invite applications for the role of the head coach despite a highly successful run under Anil Kumble, it has since been alleged that the members of the Indian cricket team were not entirely comfortable working with the Indian spin legend.

With matters seeming to get out of control ahead of India’s opener at the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy against Pakistan on Sunday, the BCCI is set to take on the matter into their own hands by interacting with the warring parties separately.

In case you didn’t know....

Anil Kumble has overseen a hugely successful run for Team India over the past one year starting with the away Test series win against the West Indies. Though India lost the subsequent two-match T20 series against the Caribbean side, they were unstoppable at home beating the likes of New Zealand, Bangladesh, England and Australia.

While it only seemed a formality that Kumble’s one-year contract would be renewed considering the manner of India’s dominance since his appointment, the players are apparently not happy with the uncompromising approach adopted by Kumble.

The details

The ongoing saga involving Kumble’s situation as India’s head coach is getting murkier by the day and it has come at the worst possible time for the team with their Champions Trophy opener just days away.

Kohli’s lukewarm response to the media query about the BCCI’s search for a new head coach was the trigger in the whole fiasco with it becoming clear that all was not well in the Indian camp. Matters only became worse when it was reported that it was not just the skipper, but a host of other players also had concerns with the way Kumble was performing his role.

BCCI's joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary and GM (Cricket Operations) MV Sridhar are scheduled to reach Birmingham on Wednesday and set to hold talks with Kohli and Kumble separately in order to assess the situation and prevent any further deterioration in the mood prevailing in the camp.

What’s next?

Wednesday was the last day for potential candidates to apply for the role of the Indian head coach and though the BCCI is yet to reveal the names of those who have registered their interest, it is reported that the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri will scrutinise the applications before handing it over to the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman.

Extra Cover: ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Why the tournament is strategically important for Team India

Author’s take

It is highly unfortunate from an Indian cricket fan’s perspective to see reports that all is not well in the Indian camp between the coach and the players. Even more so when the side has tasted unprecedented success over the past year.

The worst part is the timing with the cracks surfacing at a time when the whole team’s focus should be on defending the Champions Trophy they won in 2013. Let’s hope that the BCCI top brass is able to sort out the differences between Kohli and Kumble for the time being at least so as not to damage India’s chances at this major ICC event.