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Kohli-Kumble rift saga: This is not the way to treat a legend, writes Sunil Gavaskar

Former India captain and legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his displeasure with the way former India coach Anil Kumble was treated.

New Delhi, June 27: Former India captain and legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his displeasure with the way former India coach Anil Kumble was treated by the BCCI as well as the team, which forced him to quit.

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In an opinion published by Sportstar, Gavaskar termed that entire episode as very sad and that an Indian cricket legend was humiliated.

Kohli-Kumble rift saga: This is not the way to treat a legend, writes Sunil Gavaskar

"What happened to Anil Kumble was sad, very sad indeed. The Indian cricket legend was humiliated to say the least. No top player will want to throw his hat in the ring after what happened to Kumble. It is clear that the Indian players want people who sit back and do nothing rather than go-getters who get results," Gavaskar wrote in the column.

Kumble, the former India captain, on June 20 shocked all by resigning as Team India's head coach acknowledging the rift with captain Virat Kohli and that the partnership with latter was "untenable".

The 46-year-old, in a statement posted on his Twitter handle, also clarified that it was only a day before that he got to know through the BCCI that Kohli had reservations with his 'style' and his continual as the head coach.

"....Then the BCCI stepped in and informed Kumble that Virat Kohli had reservations about his style of coaching. So Kumble did the only thing he could have and walked away with his head held high," Gavaskar wrote further.

Gavaskar felt that the coach did the right thing by stepping down for continuing with the job couldn't have been a viable move.

(Full Text: Kumble's statement after quitting)

"Kumble could have also stuck around, but in an atmosphere where the skipper and maybe others in the team did not like his method of operating it would have been a tense situation every single hour. While Kumble, in his letter, has expressed that he was not aware of the skipper's feelings about his coaching style until the BCCI informed him, Kohli has chosen not to elaborate. He just said that dressing room matters should be left in the dressing room and not brought in the public domain,"

"This, of course, is absolutely correct and is something that has been followed for decades and not just the last few years, as the Indian skipper suggests. However, there is no explanation from anybody about how a dressing room situation came into the open that led to Kumble not accepting another year as the coach. Kohli, in his statement to the media, said glowing things about Kumble as a player but nothing about his performance as a coach. So that was a dead give-away: he didn't want to say much about that aspect," he wondered.

Elaborating over why legends do not stay for long as India coach Gavaskar said current players start getting uncomfortable with the attention that the legend gets which leads to leaks about the coach and his coaching methods.

"The coach's job should never be dependent on the players' views, for they would always seek coaches who will listen to them rather than the other way around. One of the reasons why legends don't stay for long as coaches, especially in India, is because the current players become uncomfortable with the attention that the legend gets, while they sometimes get ignored. Thus the leaks to the media about the coach and his methods, which make the coach's position untenable, as Kumble found out and mentioned in his letter.

Commenting about whether this Indian side actually needs a coach, Gavaskar felt they need a manager and not a coach.

"Frankly, with such talent available, the team doesn't need a coach. It needs someone who can be like the elder brother who the players can relate to and confide in about their problems and be certain that these will be confidential and addressed sooner than later. The players need a manager who will keep them in check if things get out of hand, especially on overseas tours, and rein them in so that they are always in a position to perform to their best every single day they don the India colours," he added further.

OneIndia News

Story first published: Thursday, August 3, 2017, 7:53 [IST]
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