THE UGLY SIDE OF INDIAN CRICKET: EGOS GET BIGGER

Indian cricket was caught in a tangle after the bitter departure of head coach Anil Kumble last week owing to differences with captain Virat Kohli.

Kumble said that Kohli had reservations about his coaching style and that their partnership was untenable.

The two had apparently stopped communicating since December last year.

Although his contract had come to an end at the conclusion of the Champions Trophy tournament in London last Sunday, Kumble was retained for the subsequent brief tour of the West Indies. However, he announced his resignation the day after India succumbed to a crushing 180-run defeat to archrivals Pakistan in the final at The Oval.

In announcing his decision, the former Indian leg-spinner said he had been informed by officials of the BCCI that “the captain had reservations with my style and about my continuing as head coach”.

The issue of an apparent strained relationship between Kohli and Kumble first arose three weeks earlier, just prior to the start of the Champions Trophy, with reports suggesting that players were uncomfortable with was described as Kumble’s “intimidating” style of man management.

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar lamented a “sad day” for Indian cricket.

Meanwhile, former cricketer M.V. Sridhar was appointed manager of the Indian cricket team for the tri-series in the West Indies.

We, however, may still have not heard the last of the controversy yet.