Champions Trophy: Ahead of India-Pakistan clash, reports emerge of a rift between Virat Kohli, Anil Kumble
With the mother of all battles less than a week away, this is the last thing Indian cricket fans wanted to hear.
All doesn't seem to be well in Indian cricket at the moment. On the face of it, Team India recently completed a rather impressive home season. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) decision to look for a new head coach set tongues wagging. And if the latest news trickling in is to be believed, there seem to be deep fissures within the Indian camp.
According to a report in The Hindu, India captain Virat Kohli is at loggerheads with head coach Anil Kumble. The cause for the rift seems to be the fact that the legendary leg-spinner is "overbearing and doesn’t give freedom to the players". The talismanic Indian leader has even voiced his concerns regarding this with the board.
"This may or may not be the reason. But we believe the people in the corridors of power have been told that Kumble is overbearing and doesn’t give freedom to the players. It’s sad that aspersions are cast on a legend of Indian cricket," said an official of the BCCI.
This doesn't seem hard to believe as it is well known that both Kohli and Kumble are strong personalties. The differences between the two first came to the fore when Kuldeep Yadav made his debut against Australia in Dharamshala a couple of months ago. Kohli, who was out with injury in that match, had shot down Kumble's suggestion of playing the left-arm chinaman in the third Test in Ranchi.
One can't help but get reminded of former Australian batsman and Team India coach Greg Chappell, who was ousted because of personalty clashes with senior players over a decade ago.
The Indian team is currently in England, preparing for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. After an impressive victory in the first warm-up game against New Zealand, the Men in Blue will take on Bangladesh in their final practice match on Tuesday.
India will take on arch rivals Pakistan in the opening game of their campaign on June 4. With fans at fever pitch, hoping that Kohli and Co will start the defence of their title with a bang, news of this major rift is the last thing they would've wanted to hear.