It has been a tough week for Indian cricket. Just a few days after India lost to Pakistan in the Champions trophy final, head coach Anil Kumble decided to step down from his post. And now we learn that skipper Virat Kohli was very close to resigning as captain as well.
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Kohli has come under the spotlight for various reasons over the past week. His decision to field first in the final, his failure with the bat and then his alleged role in Kumble’s dismissal as the coach has put a lot of pressure on the star batsman.
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From various source, we have learnt that Kohli and Kumble were not on speaking terms during the Champions trophy. The pair had little to no interaction, with several team members feeling that it did not lead to a conducive environment.
“Kohli had been adamant that Kumble couldn’t continue as the head coach and that the Board needed to look for a replacement…. That, it seems, was communicated to the Committee of Administrators’ chief Vinod Rai, besides top officials of the Board and, of course, the CAC…. Had the Board gone ahead and implemented Sachin, Sourav and Laxman’s recommendation, then Kohli would almost surely have resigned,” a source quoted in The Telegraph.
So much so, that Kohli even went on to delete the welcoming tweet that he had sent out when Kumble was first appointed the coach.
This was a pretty petty action by the Indian skipper, and will be expected to behave much better over the course of his tenure.