Who is against Anil Kumble in the BCCI?

Former India leg-spinner Anil Kumble hasn’t had the smoothest of times as coach of the Indian Cricket Team. His friction with the BCCI and captain Virat Kohli has been making the rounds lately. However, while most officials in the Board of Control for Cricket in India are backing Kumble, there is one individual who is not too keen on having him as the head coach of Team India.

Currently, there is just one office-bearer – who is supposedly close to former BCCI president N Srinivasan and is a staunch Kumble critic – who is batting for the removal of coach Anil Kumble. The others, however, are against setting a precedent where essentially the Indian captain has the final word on who will be the coach of the side.

Cricket Advisory Committee met on Thursday

The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) consisting of the elite trio of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman was supposed to meet to discuss this matter forward and consider the applications which have come in. The scheduled meeting of the CAC was supposed to take place after midnight on Thursday. CEO Rahul Johri was also expected to co-ordinate the meeting.

The BCCI earlier invited applications for the coach’s post. Some BCCI officials even went to the extent of coaxing Virender Sehwag to apply for the post and hasten Kumble’s removal.

“The team has had great performances under Kumble. If the team reaches semi-final or say final, the BCCI would cut a sorry figure if they are forced to replace Kumble. On the other hand, cricket teams are essentially run by captains. One needs to respect a captain’s viewpoint also. It’s a Catch-22 situation for CAC members,” a BCCI official was quoted by Zee News as saying.

Anil Kumble to be given an extended tenure?

“Virat has never come and told any BCCI official that he doesn’t want to work with Kumble. And moreover, if Kumble and Virat don’t get along, what is the guarantee that Viru (Sehwag) and Virat will be on the same page. Everyone in Indian cricketing circuit knows that Sehwag is also a no- nonsense person,” the source added.

In fact, several BCCI members weren’t pleased with Sehwag’s stunt of submitting a 2-line CV, and hence think he has the least chance of being elected the next coach. On the other hand, Tom Moody has a better chance than Sehwag if the CAC decides on going ahead with the interviews.