“There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.”
– W. Clement Stone
A brash young man marching along with nothing but ambition glowing in his eyes was accompanied by a suave yet extremely passionate veteran. Only success mattered to both of them; no compromises, no excuses and no ifs and buts occupied their psyche.
A match made in heaven it could have been, a ruptured relationship it turned out to be.
That little difference in personalities, irrespective of whether they were black and white, had the final say. And even as the 'brash' young man had his way and the suave gentleman had to make way, public perception was soon occupied by judgements and visceral hatred for the young bloke; the same bloke who had given them unbridled joy for five years.
As Anil Kumble decided not to invest too much time in the 'untenable' relationship, people decided to vilify Virat Kohli.
How could a 28-year-old superstar treat a proven legend the way Kumble was treated? After all, he had plotted his downfall.
Yes, no one can doubt the credentials of Kumble, no one can even for a fleeting moment question his passion for the nation, and no one can look at him apprehensively for whatever he has done so far.
And yet, the fissures have erupted and today there are two camps. Kohli, the maverick, has been cornered. The Indian captain is silent; he never was silent, he does not believe in keeping quiet. Yet, he has not spoken.
Not Kumble; his parting shot was the flipper which pitched and skidded on. It appealed to everyone, all over again, and they were convinced that these 'brats' camouflaging as players do not know how to respect a legend.
True, Kumble's letter struck all the right chords; it was a guide for all the coaches as to how they should behave. But then before jumping the gun, should we not wait for Kohli to speak out and present his version?
Bear in mind the Indian team left for the Caribbean Islands without their head coach, and minutes after boarding the flight, the players clicked very 'happy' pictures. Surely they were aware of the impending future of Kumble, and yet these 'brats' did not give two hoots about it. How 'ungrateful', right?
Wrong
They have been sharing the dressing room with Kumble for the past 12 months and have tasted success all the while. And if they do not appear bothered, there has to be a different version of the entire drama.
Kohli might have the veto power, but he is the leader of the team; he is their voice. And after about three days, we are getting reports that he was not the only one who was concerned with the 'imposing' figure of Kumble.
The BCCI is not very good when it comes to PR management, and to expect them to handle this issue with any conviction is a little far-fetched.
Not the same with Kohli. He believes in words, wears his heart on his sleeve, and even when he is not politically correct, will speak what he believes to be the truth.
On the eve of the Champions Trophy, the captain spoke out; he took a swipe at the media for earning their bread by cooking up stories according to their own whims and fancies.
Yes, we wrote a million stories. And call it fate or just our 'professionalism', but they were all true at the end of the day.
The captain needs to speak out now and present the white shade to Kumble's black. He needs to win the trust of the camp which has stuck with Kumble, which is convinced that the rich young superstar is the biggest scoundrel in the country today.
He needs to speak and then he needs to perform. For all the success that India have witnessed over the past 15 months, the biggest challenges still await them.
If the team stumbles, knives, daggers and tongues will be out again.
"Kohli just needs yes-men around him, and since Kumble showed the team the mirror, he was ousted." Yes, statements like those will ring all over the place.
Kumble has bowled the flipper, Kohli needs to read the drift and the length and then play the stroke accordingly. And the BCCI needs to realize that all the speculative stories which are presenting Kohli's version are doing no good to the image of their captain.
Indian cricket has always rotated around a fulcrum, and this time the fulcrum is Kohli. Until he provides his own story, we should just wait.
Is that too much to ask? Yes, it may be; the damage has probably been done already.
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