CoA Chairman Vinod Rai To Meet Kohli, Kumble To Resolve Issues Around Coach's Appointment

A crisis has cropped up in Indian cricket – and a major one. Following reports that captain Virat Kohli and team coach Anil Kumble were not on the same page anymore, sources in the Board and close to the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) have confirmed the same to Outlook today.

The timing of the crisis is most critical as it rears its head just a few days before defending champions India are to play Pakistan in their opening Champions Trophy match on Sunday in Birmingham. It is anybody’s guess as to what kind of atmosphere exists in the team’s dressing room at the moment.

The real issues between Kohli and Kumble, still not out in the open, are closely connected with matters of the appointment of the Indian team coach. Kumble’s one-year tenure with the team is over with the Champions Trophy, and Kohli, who got along famously with previous coach Ravi Shastri, apparently wants a change now.

The BCCI had advertised the coach’s post and invited applications till May 31, which is tomorrow, and clarified that Kumble’s would be an automatic entry. The interviews, if required, would be conducted on June 5 and 6 – most probably via internet/teleconference – and the coach’s name would be announced on June 10, said a BCCI insider.

The process has apparently been fast-tracked with the Indian team due to leave for a short tour of the West Indies (June 23-July 9) from London, just two days after the Champions Trophy ends on June 18.

The CoA reportedly learned of the Kohli-Kumble tussle only on May 21 and its chairman Vinod Rai then decided to pacify warring parties and find a middle path; to advertise for the post of coach.

“When the CoA came to know about the problem, Rai spoke to Virat to see if it was indeed a very serious problem, before giving the green signal for the process to start. Rai said let the CAC members to take a call. Let’s see if the three members can convince Virat. We are still hopeful,” the BCCI insider told Outlook.

When contacted on Tuesday, Rai told Outlook via text message that he was in Singapore and would return to India on Wednesday night. He did not comment on the issue. According to sources close to the CoA, he and the other three members of the committee haven’t given up on resolving the unwanted crisis.

Fortunately, Rai is scheduled to leave for London on a private visit by co-incidence. It is gathered that he is keen to speak to all the parties involved, including the BCCI-appointed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) that will pick the coach after interviewing the candidates. The CAC comprises former legends Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, with the first two names currently in England.

“Rai will, incidentally, be in England between June 3 and 5 for a lecture. The interviews for coach’s post will be conducted on June 5 and 6 – either side of the India-Pakistan match. Rai is trying if he could meet Sachin and Sourav one-on-one in England and see if he can help in resolving the Kumble-Kohli issue. Then they [CAC members] can take it forward with Virat, Kumble and some senior players of the team. If the problem is not resolved amicably then a new coach would, anyway, be announced by June 10, as the team has to leave for the West Indies from England,” a BCCI insider told Outlook on Tuesday.

Rai could also meet Kohli and Kumble separately, besides meeting Sachin and Sourav – and also Laxman, if he is in England as well.

It may be recalled that Kumble and Kohli have made a joint presentation to the CoA, after they were asked by Rai to do so, on the issue of revision of pay packets to the coach, team coaching/support staff, players and the team captain. The presentation was made by Kumble to the CoA this month.

 It is all the more surprising that while Kohli and Kumble worked on the presentation together, they apparently fell apart on issues that are yet to be clarified by either party. For the moment, both are part of the same Team India dressing room in England. What is going on in their minds is anybody’s guess though.