Anil Kumble steps down as India coach: BCCI should not have played into Virat Kohli's hands

The first ODI against the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday would have marked a full one year as head coach of the Indian team for Anil Kumble. But, that was not to be as the legendary former India captain stepped down from the post at the end of his one-year contract that ran till the just-concluded Champions Trophy.

The unceremonious manner in which Kumble had to step down despite showing his interest in taking the Indian cricket forward shows that all is not well between him and captain Virat Kohli.

The legend of Kumble the cricketer cannot be debated. He has played cricket on his own terms – aggressive and with the desire to win. He played the role of a father-figure to some of the young Indian players in his last months as India cricketer, fighting for their cause before bowing out in his own terms.

The third highest wicket-taker in world cricket deserved a better treatment than the manner in which current skipper Kohli has expressed his reservations against him to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

For his stature in world cricket, and particularly in Indian cricket, Kumble deserved better respect from the players, particularly the captain. He has guided Team India to No. 1 rank in Tests and to the final of the Champions Trophy. This, despite having no previous experience of coaching a side at any level except for donning the role of a mentor for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

Kohli may have considered Kumble as a tough task-master and a disciplinarian. This was more a clash of his personal ego against a player who has played 403 international games for India including 132 Tests. So, what if he was a disciplinarian?

Kumble has always played cricket the hard way, not hiding his emotions when there was a misfield off his own bowling. His teammates did not have any complaints against Kumble then. So, why now? Perhaps, a majority of the players did not want to be told off by a player of the stature of Kumble.

It is no secret that Kohli preferred somebody like former team director Ravi Shastri. Kohli and Shastri got along very well. They both had similar mind sets and the latter was more a fun-loving ‘boss’. Kumble was equally aggressive in terms of the approach towards cricket and it is a pity that Kohli could not bury his differences, if there were any, with his more illustrious coach.

Kohli may have long forgotten the team-bonding sessions that Kumble arranged from time to time during his tenure as a coach. Kohli may have forgotten that Kumble backed him to the hilt in Royal Challengers Bangalore by retaining him after the first three years.

By expressing his displeasure at not wanting Kumble as coach, Kohli has only set a bad precedent and wanted to assert his superstar status and be in complete control of the Indian dressing room.

The BCCI is playing into Kohli's hands by allowing him to have his way rather than stamp its authority and tell Kohli and Co to get on with the game.

Whether this is good or bad for Indian cricket, only time will tell.

Amidst all the recent unsavoury developments, Kumble gracefully maintained silence and chose to stay in the background and went about his business during the Champions Trophy.

He won more admirers by maintaining his dignity and not accompanying the team to the West Indies as a stop-gap arrangement, not completely sure if he would continue thereafter.

Life as a coach has certainly come a full circle from being appointed the head coach just prior to the Test tour of the West Indies and stepping down ahead of the one-day leg against the same opponents in the same islands. And in between, he has guided the side to every series win – Tests, ODIs and T20Is – with the team making it to the final of the Champions Trophy.

And, just like the way he played, he quit as coach in his own terms.