Efforts Are On To Broker Peace Between Anil Kumble And Virat Kohli

Ahead of the June 18 deadline for a new coach, efforts are on to broker peace between Kumble and Kohli.

-  Neeru Bhatia 

A leg spinner has the Board of Control for Cricket in India tied up in knots. Its search for a new coach for Team India has proved counter productive, as it was seen as a move to hasten the exit of the incumbent Anil Kumble, whose excellent record as coach complimented his outstanding playing career. It left Kumble seething, and annoyed the watchdogs—the Committee of Administrators and the Justice Lodha Committee. While BCCI officials were left licking their wounds, the image of captain Virat Kohli, who apparently disagreed with Kumble's style of man management, suffered. A temporary ceasefire has been called, and the advisory committee will pick the coach by June 18.

There are six candidates including Kumble, the others being Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus, Lalchand Rajput and Dodda Ganesh. Having sent his application well within the May 31 deadline, even ignoring the so called 'direct entry' that the BCCI granted him, Kumble has virtually thrown the challenge to these officials. He has even attached a detailed vision document for Team India. Kumble's credentials, unlike last time when he had no past experience as coach, makes him the best man for the job and the advisory committee consisting of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman will have a tough time making the selection.

Efforts are still on to salvage the relationship between Kohli and Kumble, and the view of many in the BCCI is that if the divide can be bridged, Kumble should be allowed to continue. Before the candidate 
interviews, the committee members have been asked to discuss the matter among themselves and also with Kohli.