Michael Clarke explains the importance of a good relationship between the coach and captain 

What’s the story?

Former Australian captain has given his views on the rift between the coach and captain of a cricket team, with reference to all that unfolded between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble earlier this year. According to Clarke, it is the captain who takes precedence over the coach in matters of the team.

“The captain is accountable for the results of the team, he is the one who is going to be accountable for the wins and the losses. He has to face the media when the team loses. Ravi sees his role as trying to manage the players as well as possible, to get them fit and healthy for Virat. Those two have a great relationship and will make a great partnership,” Clarke told Mumbai Mirror exclusively.

“No captain that I played under did things on their own. They had a vice-captain, coach, other senior players. You utilise all those people around you, but the captain was always the one in charge,” he added.

In case you didn’t know...

There have been various incidents of a fall-out between the captain and coach of a cricket team. Talking of Indian cricket in particular, the rift between Sourav Ganguly and Gregg Chappell, and the recent one between Anil Kumble and Virat Kohli are well-known.

The heart of the matter

Kumble, who served the team for a year, announced his resignation after the Champions Trophy 2017, and didn’t travel with the team for the subsequent tour of the West Indies. In his resignation letter, the highest Indian wicket-taker in Tests had said that Kohli had reservations about his style of coaching, and that the relationship between the two was ‘untenable’.

Ravi Shastri was later appointed as the head coach, and in his very first assignment, India registered a whitewash over Sri Lanka in the recently-concluded Test series.

What’s next?

Kohli and Shastri will be looking forward to the five-match ODI series beginning in Dambulla tomorrow (August 20).

Author’s take

Reflecting on what Michael Clarke said, it is indeed true that the captain of the team has to be answerable for all that takes place on the field. While the coach may be as instrumental to the team as the captain, it is only the latter who has to bear the brunt of the losses.