India start as firm favourite

India will be hoping to capitalise on the absence of explosive Pak opener Sharjeel Khan and the seasoned Umar Akmal.

website on May 25.

As it has emerged now, the decision was made following feedback from Kohli about Kumble’s coaching method, which he is said to have described as “intimidating”.

The legendary Indian leg-spinner, who has not put a foot wrong since being appointed as the coach, will see out his contract at the end of the eight-team tournament.

But what takes the attention away from the field where India have looked so good in the two warm-up matches against New Zealand and Bangladesh, is the fact that the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman will start looking for new names in London itself. Though acting BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary has tried hard to bury the hatchet by saying that there is no conflict between captain and coach, and Kumble giving Kohli throwdowns at nets on Friday in front of media persons, the hornet’s nest has surely been stirred.

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Ramachandra Guha resigned from his post virtually confirming the frosty relations between Kumble and Kohli.

To make matters worse, in a letter to CoA head Vinod Rai, renowned historian Guha resigned from the four-member panel further highlighting the rift between CoA and the BCCI.

Coming to the much-awaited cricket match, millions of supporters are expected to tune in and watch the teams fight for national pride at Edgbaston on Sunday. Due to diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan, the two teams rarely lock horns against each other barring an International Cricket Council (ICC) event, and the hotly fought battle has over the years drawn a wide range of audience.

For almost 18 years, wars stood in between the two outfits playing each other in a bilateral series until the ice was broken in 1978, but even today matches are few and far between.

The two sides have not played a bilateral series since 2012-2013, and India have refused to juggle with the idea without an end to “cross border terrorism”, which essentially means militant incursions along the disputed Kashmir border. Not only will a victory for either side mean taking a huge step towards the semi-finals in a four-team group which also has Sri Lanka and South Africa, it will also be a diplomatic point-scoring in terms of the stand-off between the two parties. IANS