Former Indian captain and iconic leg-spinner Anil Kumble stepped down as coach of Indian cricket team on Tuesday. Although, BCCI was ready to give a two-week extension to Kumble, but the latter declined and sent his resignation to the BCCI CEO.
Kumble said he was informed that skipper Virat Kohli had reservations about his work 'style' and his extension as the head coach, which prompted him to resign.
In a strongly worded letter, the iconic former player took to Twitter to reveal the reason behind his surprising decision.
"I was informed for the first time yesterday by the BCCI that the Captain had reservations with my 'style' and about my continuing as the Head Coach. I was surprised since I had always respected the role boundaries between Captain and Coach," Kumble said.
Kumble said the BCCI had, several times, attempted to resolve the misunderstandings between him and the Captain.
"But it was apparent that the partnership was untenable, and I therefore believe it is best for me to move on," he said.
"In light of these 'reservations', I believe it is best I hand over this responsibility to whomever the CAC and BCCI deem fit," he added.
He also thanked his innumerable followers and fans of Indian cricket for their continued support.
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"I will remain a well-wisher of the great cricketing tradition of my country forever," he said.
Earlier, Kumble didn't accompany the team to the West Indies for a limited-overs series starting June 23, citing his commitment to an ICC meeting at London.
The official reason was given that Kumble was required to stay back for the ICC ‘Annual Conference’ as he is the chairman of the Cricket Committee in-charge of taking a call on laws and regulations of the game.
The ICC Annual Conference started on Monday and will continue till June 23. Kumble’s Cricket Committee meeting will be held on June 22.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) decision to not renew the one-year long contract of Anil Kumble as the coach and inviting fresh applications also stoked up the issue and is thought to be one of the reasons for the legendary leg-spinner's resignation.
Meanwhile, former Indian batsman and hard-hitting opener Virender Sehwag, has also applied for the position of the head coach of the Indian team currently in England to defend their Champions Trophy title.
READ: Anil Kumble to continue as coach of Indian cricket team: Vinod Rai
The CAC will have to recommend one nominee from the other five applicants - Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Richard Pybus, Lalchand Rajput or Dodda Ganesh before the BCCI-COA committee takes the final call. Ravi Shastri, with whom Kohli shares an excellent working relationship, could also join the race given his familiarity with most of the current batch of India's cricketers.
Various reports had speculated that cracks had developed in the Kohli-Kumble relationship and thus BCCI was hunting for a new coach.
However, in spite of the apparent tensions, Kumble had a brilliant run as coach for 1 year. The Virat Kohli led Indian team won 5 Test series and rose to the top of the Test rankings under his guidance. India won 10 out of the 13 home Tests with two draws and a single defeat under the maestro's coaching.
The Indian team defeated the mighty Aussies and Englishmen and the Kumble-Kohli duo was hailed as one of the greatest partnerships of modern era.
Even in the One Day format, Kumble guided the team to the recently concluded Champions Trophy finals with his efficient coaching Moreover, India also won the ODI series against New Zealand and the limited-overs series against England under the iconic player's coaching.
Kumble has written his name in the annals of cricket history with his 619 wickets in Tests. He is the third highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket after fellow spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. As far as Indian cricket records are concerned, he surpassed legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev to establish his name as the highest wicket taker the country has ever seen.
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