Team India reportedly had no idea about Anil Kumble’s resignation from the head coach’s post and that he would not accompany the team for the West Indies series. The team left for the Caribbeans on Tuesday morning (June 20) while Kumble stayed back in London to attend the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting and was expected to join the team later.
However, Kumble stunned one and all by resigning from his post on the same day. But the Indian players, who were on the flight to St. Lucia, came to know about the news only after landing. As per the report in The Indian Express, the players got the news after they switched on their mobile phones and even though there were reports of players being unhappy with Kumble, the news outlet claimed that the players were shocked to hear about Kumble’s sudden decision.
“It came as a shock. The boys were dazed. There had been a talk of him staying back in London to attend the ICC Cricket Committee meeting. We all thought he would join the team before the second ODI on June 25 at Port of Spain,” a source was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
Kumble, in his statement posted on Twitter, had dropped the bombshell, making it clear that all was not well between him and Virat Kohli. The former India skipper said that he stepped down after knowing about Kohli’s reservation over his style of coaching. But Kumble’s tweet has not gone too well with the team.
“Virat had so many chances of talking about the dressing room rift during the Champions Trophy press conferences but he didn’t. He expected the same from Kumble. The team was disturbed to read those comments, that too on Twitter,” the source said.
“What’s even more shocking was Kumble claiming that Tuesday was the first time he was informed about the problem. How can he claim to have been in the dark about this?” he added.
“I was informed for the first time yesterday by the BCCI that the Captain had reservations with my ‘style’ and about my continuing as the Head Coach. I was surprised since I had always respected the role boundaries between Captain and Coach. Though the BCCI attempted to resolve the misunderstandings between the Captain and me, it was apparent that the partnership was untenable, and I, therefore, believe it is best for me to move on,” Kumble had said in his statement.
Meanwhile, Kohli decided to keep his side of the story under the cover. Interacting with the media for the first time after Kumble’s resignation, Kohli said:
“Obviously, Anil bhai has expressed his views and he’s taken the decision to step out and we will respect that decision. We have created a culture over the last three-four years that whatever happens in the changing room, we’ve tried to maintain the sanctity of the changing room throughout.”
“What happens in the changing room is something that’s very sacred and private to all of us. And something that I would not express in detail in a public scenario,” Kohli added.
Kumble stepping down as the coach also took West Indies by surprise with their official insisting that they had been unaware untill Wednesday whether they should retain the room booking for him or not.
“As far as we are concerned, Kumble was listed as India coach and we thought he would be showing up in Port of Spain at some point during this week,” the official said.