Why Team India coach Anil Kumble could be on a sticky wicket

Are his days numbered?

Ego has always been a convenient social fiction. One person gets all the stick for anything which comes close to brushing another person’s bloated pride. 

Something quite similar is brewing in the Board of Control For Cricket In India, which is evident from its decision to invite new applicants for the Indian head coach. The incumbent Anil Kumble has done a stellar job with the team over the past 12 months and if common consensus was to be believed, he was all set to get an extension. 

But when it is the BCCI, common belief can go for a toss, and the most unexpected theory could suddenly surface. Kumble, the man who shepherded India’s march to number 1 in Test cricket, is suddenly staring into oblivion; as the Indian team lands in the United Kingdom, their head coach is not quite sure of his job. 

What has caused this sudden upheaval? We may have a few answers!

The demand for a hike in remuneration

Well-placed sources in the BCCI say that the board was not very chuffed when Kumble and Virat Kohli put forward their demands pertaining to an increase in player fees. 

Kumble was quite vocal in his assessment and made sure that the Board paid heed to their suggestions which included a huge hike in retainer fees (150% hike) for the Grade A players, besides the coach’s fees.

The BCCI says that if they increase the share of the players, they would have to do it at the expense of the State Associations’ revenue, which might not be entirely plausible currently. Also, according to the present scheme of things, 70% of the total BCCI revenue is pumped into the State Associations and 26 per cent is siphoned off to the players’ salary.

Incidentally, if the BCCI is to be believed, almost half of the players’ salary goes towards the contracted players. The board don’t want to blink, and they maintain that they cannot increase the 26% share unless of course, they clip the wings of the State Associations. 

Hence, Kumble’s demands could have irked the BCCI and they would want to draw a line in the sand with this move. 

Stance during the ICC-BCCI tussle before the Champions Trophy

Apart from the above-mentioned point, the Indian board is also not too happy with Kumble’s stance during the negotiation period with the ICC prior to the Champions Trophy. 

Apparently, the BCCI was not pleased with the revenue sharing model proposed by the ICC and wanted to use the Champions Trophy as a bargaining chip. However, Kumble had voiced his opinion rather vehemently in which he made it clear that the Indian team would fly to England to defend their title. 

The office bearers did not like the coach’s stand as they believed that this put too much undue pressure on them and also undermined their stance at the global level. The bad blood kept boiling and this could be one of the reasons for Kumble being shown the door. 

‘Instigating’ the players against the board

This particular word could be irresponsible or it could be justified, depending on which side of the battlefield you are. 

The BCCI believes that Kumble could be jeopardising its relationship with the players through his remuneration proposals and various other policies. 

Also, the board could prop up the ‘conflict of interest’ angle if it wanted to. Incidentally, Kumble heads the ICC technical committee which proposed a number of changes in its meeting.