The Indian team has been going through a transition in Test cricket. Four months after Ravichandran Ashwin‘s sudden retirement, midway through the tour of Australia, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli drew curtains on their Test careers in just five days, both making the announcement on social media. As the Indian team gears up for the crucial tour of England, head coach Gautam Gambhir was sent a subtle reminder of the infamous Anil Kumble episode.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma both recently retired from Test cricket(PTI)
Speaking on the OTTPlay App, former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan was asked why there is always a transitional phase when a new coach comes in, which is when he subtly dropped the Kumble episode from 2017, before reminding how smoothly the transition from one era to another happened during Gary Kirsten and John Wright’s tenure.
“It happens because a new coach is usually appointed when the team loses something. Nobody wants to fix something that is not broken. So when that new phase arrives and you think you want to rebuild…but then there is a lack of patience. You need to keep in mind that there are big players who might think that their rules are getting disrupted. They are very powerful in the Indian team. You know what happened. They won’t let it happen. So you can do it like Gary Kirsten and John Wright, who made that transition smoothly. ‘Saam Daam Dand Bhed (persuasion, reward, punishment, and divide)’ you should know it all, if you want to survive in Indian cricket,” he said.
With Kohli and Rohit retiring from Tests, many experts have even labelled this phase as the true beginning of the ‘Gambhir era’ and Wassan reckoned that the two-time World Cup-winner should be given a “free hand.”
“Whichever coach comes, comes with the dogma. You have to give him a free hand. If you’re a very strong personality, you’re given a free hand. And if you don’t deliver, you have to be out. It’s not as if you make all your choices, but in the end, you cannot guarantee results. There has to be some balance, some kind of mentorship has to be there from the board,” he said.
What had happened between Kumble and Kohli?
The incident had happened in 2017, when Kumble suddenly stepped down as the head coach of the Indian team after the loss in the Champions Trophy final against Pakistan, reportedly due to disagreements with then-captain Kohli. Despite an impressive tenure, their relationship had grown tense, with Kumble even calling it “untenable” and that he was informed by the BCCI that “the captain had reservations with my style and about my continuing as head coach.”
A report in ESPNCricinfo said that Kohli had met the BCCI officials before departing for England for the Champions Trophy, and he said some players were not comfortable with the “intimidating” style of Kumble’s man management.
The episode subsequently exposed the power dynamics in Indian cricket, where the captain’s preferences seemed to outweigh even a legendary coach’s stature and results.