Reports: Advisory Committee is likely to retain Anil Kumble as the coach
What's the story?
Reports suggest that the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) is in favour of continuing with Anil Kumble as the head coach of the Indian Cricket team until the 2019 World Cup. According to Indian Express, the committee comprising of former Indian cricketing legends, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly is keen on retaining Kumble for the position despite the innumerable controversies as they look forward to dissolving all the issues between the coach and the team.
“Around 10 players have told the committee that they are not happy with Kumble's way of functioning, but it is not the only thing that they will look at. The team has done well over the last 12 months, and they clearly don't want to have another change in personnel. They might meet the players again and when they sit down with Kumble, their priorities will be to see this combination going forward,” revealed the sources.
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In case you didn't know...
Anil Kumble's term with the Indian Cricket team will end soon and CAC is dedicatedly running its selection process. Reports of a tussle between the players and the coach have been doing rounds in the media for quite some time, especially about the differences with the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli. Both the parties readily denied any existence of rifts and termed it as a mere difference of opinions.
On the other hand, the Indian Cricket team has displayed spectacular form in the past twelve months which contributes towards confirming the positive influence that the coach held on their performance on the field.
The heart of the matter
Reports suggest that Anil Kumble will make another presentation before the committee and the latter will first speak to him. This also explains why the interview with the other short-listed applicants scheduled for Wednesday did not happen. Although most of the players were against Kumble continuing as the coach, it is expected that these players will have no problem if Kumble changes his manner of functioning.
The sources also revealed that whatever caused an issue between Kumble and the players happened behind the doors and if either one changed their approach then, this entire situation could have been avoided. The committee will work towards bridging the gap between the two parties and aim at restoring peace between them. Only if the committee feels that the relationship is beyond repair, they will consider selecting a new coach
The committee is eager on coming to a decision about this entire situation but they will reveal their decision only after the Champions Trophy as they do not want to affect the team’s morale and compromise their game. However, the decision will definitely be revealed ahead of India's West Indies tour.
What's next?
These reports indicate towards the growing chances of Kumble continuing as the coach of the Blues. All of this depends on CAC's conversation with the players as well as Kumble. If the committee draws neutral lines between the two where all the conflicts can be addressed and subsequently dissolved, Kumble will continue with the post.
However, if the team is still not convinced of Kumble's alteration of style or the coach decides not to change his ways, the committee will be left with no option other than appointing a new coach for team India ahead of their West Indies tour.
Author's take
This matter has already spun all kinds of news and garnered enough attention from the entire cricket fraternity. If the reports are to be believed there is still hope that Kumble and the players can mutually decide on their ways of functioning with the interference from the CAC. It will be easier for the team to go ahead with the accustomed mannerisms with slightly favourable changes ahead of the next series lined up for the Indian team.
However, if these mutual decisions fail to soothe the required equation between the two, the committee needs to acknowledge the differences and not force their preference upon the team. More than anything else, any change will have a direct impact on the performance of the team and that is certainly not something that any person or board would like to be held responsible for.
So, the need of the hour is that these legends study the situation closely and decide the best man for the job without letting the focus deviate onto other relatively insignificant aspects.