Anil Kumble: A headmaster who intimidated but got the results

Anil Kumble’s tenure as India coach won’t be remembered for the Immaculate results he produced, he will always come across as a great visionary whose style of coaching wasn’t admired by certain team members including skipper Virat Kohli. Kumble began his tenure in July 2016, when India visited the shores of West Indies for a 4-Test series.

Kumble’s approach was very disciplined, he was a great planner and perhaps, a fraction too studious. He had impressed one and all including the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which included legends Sourav Ganguly; Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, who selected him as the head coach last year after getting impressed with the former leg-spinner’s presentation and vision for India cricket.

Just before the start of the Champions Trophy, there were murmurs in the media about the apparent fall out between skipper Kohli and Anil Kumble. Everyone rubbished it citing it to be a rumour. It is believed that Kohli had met the CAC just before the start of the tournament and spoke about Kumble’s over involvement in team selection and overall man management skills. He was reportedly too intense which intimidated Kohli and a few members of the team.

Just as the BCCI invited applications for the position of the head coach, as Kumble was given a yearlong contract which was going to expire at the end of the Champions Trophy, Kumble reapplied for the position. Including him, there were six candidates for the job but Kumble was hailed as the frontrunner to get the job again due to the results he produced during his tenure. After Kohli’s meeting with the CAC, Kumble was also summoned by the three-man committee and was reportedly told about Kohli’s reservations against the 45-year old. Kumble, being an honest and humble gentleman, stepped aside as he believed that the relationship with the captain is untenable now.

Kumble resigned from his post, despite getting an extension for the West Indies tour which kicks start on June 23. He isn’t a type of person who will hang around after getting to know the general consensus of the team’s captain and a few other players. Kumble was at the helm when India played 10 series across all formats – 4 Test series, 2 T20 series and 4 ODI series – and India just lost 2 out of them. He took India to the No. 1 Test ranking after a gap of a few years. He had the right ideas but maybe, for this modern day generation of cricketers, he was a little old school.

Let us have a look at the series Kumble was a part of as the head coach of India:

1. Tour of West Indies 2016

This was the first assignment of Anil Kumble post his appointment. India hadn’t won an overseas Test series outside the subcontinent since 2011. It was a young team with a new skipper but the transition was taking a lot of time. India played the perfect series and won the 4-match series by 2-0. Ravi Ashwin and Virat Kohli were the chief architects of the win with the former bagging the Man of the Series award. India dominated all of the first three games, the last one was washed out with just 22 overs possible over 5 days and posted huge scores throughout the series, which became a familiar theme over the next 10 months.

The margins of wins were colossal – an innings and 92 runs in the first Test and 237 runs in the third – which showed their authority over an ever depleting West Indies side. A 2-0 Test series win outside the subcontinent was an ideal beginning for Kumble, who did not have much coaching experience barring his stint with Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

The Test series followed a 2-match T20 series in the US with West Indies, who are the current World T20 champions. The series result, 1-0 in favour of the West Indies, was an aberration. In the first game, India showed resilience with the bat to fall short by just a solitary run after conceding 245 runs in the first innings. It was a situation where India ended up losing the game rather than West Indies winning it. The second game, where India looked set to romp home after restricting the World Champions to 143, was a no result due to incessant rains. By virtue of this drawn game, West Indies took the series 1-0 and Kumble faced defeat for the first time into his second month as India coach. Though India did reasonably well in both games, they ended up at the losing side.

2. New Zealand in India 2016

This was the first series for Kumble against a higher ranked opposition. Kane Williamson had a decent bunch of cricketers in his squad but winning the first series in India was an uphill task. Leading up to the series, No. 3 batsman, Chestashwar Pujara’s position in the Test side was being questioned. Kohli had mentioned about his scoring rate in the West Indies, which was a little slow, and wanted his one drop batsman to be a little more positive. Anil Kumble announced that Pujara is an asset to the Indian Test side and is looked at as a long-term prospect. The word of confidence from the coach rubbed off well on the 29-year old as he made 373 runs at 74.60 and went on to become a run-machine, which he was popularly hailed as when he broke into the Test side, to finish with the highest run-getter during India’s long home season.

India whitewashed New Zealand 3-0. The margin of victories was again, humungous. The first win at Kanpur was by 197 runs followed by a 178-run win at the Eden Gardens. India didn’t want to sit on the series win and went on to humiliate New Zealand by 321 runs in the final Test at Indore. Ravi Ashwin again picked up the Man of the Series award.

The limited overs captaincy was still with MS Dhoni then. New Zealand played a 5-match ODI series which wasn’t one-sided as the Test series. Before the fifth and final ODI, the series was level at 2-2. Both sides won alternate games which made the final ODI into a virtual final. India delivered the goods at Visakhapatnam and Amit Mishra spun India to a 190-run win, picking 5/18 which skittled the Kiwis for 79 all out. Mishra not only won the Man of the Match award but also won the Man of the Series for his fine showings during the series. This was a complete win for India and Kumble as they won both sets of series comfortably.

3) England in India for a full tour 2016/17

When England set foot in India, there were palpable concerns as they had won a rare test series in India back in 2012, their only home Test series loss in the last 12 years. England didn’t have the same spinners but had a formidable batting line-up with Alistair Cook, Joe Root and the ever evolving Ben Stokes. After the first Test at Rajkot was drawn, India were under a bit of pressure as England dominated the Test match. Skipper Kohli had to curb his natural instincts to make a dogged 49* in the fourth innings to ensure that the game ended in a draw.

India went on to win each of the next four Test matches comprehensively and won the series 4-0. Skipper Virat Kohli led from the front and amassed 655 runs at 109.16 to win the Player of the Series award. It was business as usual for Jadeja and Ashwin, who collectively picked 54 wickets between themselves. India had discovered a new star in Karun Nair, who became only the second Indian to register a triple hundred which he achieved in the final Test. India consistently posted scores in excess of 450 in the series and also registered their highest team score in their history of Test cricket – 759/7 at Chennai in the final Test. Batsmen were getting the big scores and the bowlers were responding by picking 20 wickets in almost every game.

The Test series followed a 3-match ODI series where Virat Kohli led India in the ODIs following MS Dhoni’s resignation from the captaincy. He was again at the forefront of a steep chase of 351 and found an ally in Kedar Jadhav, who smacked the English bowlers around to record a 65-ball ton. After a comfortable win in the first ODI, India wrapped up the series in the second game itself, winning by 15 runs at Cuttack. It was a game which saw two India stalwarts – Dhoni and Yuvraj – turning the clock back and posting big hundreds to lift India from 25 for 3 to 381 6. The dead rubber at the Eden Gardens was won by England as India’s spirited chase of 322 ended on the last ball of the match with Jadhav failing to hit it for six after scoring a jaw-dropping 75-ball 90. For his outstanding run of form during the series, Jadhav was the Man of the Series.

England took the lead in the 3-match series in the first game at Kanpur, which they won without an arduous effort by 7 wickets. But the litany continued as India came from behind and won the series 2-1 after winning the Nagpur and Bengaluru game by 5 and 75 runs respectively. India found another star in this series in Yuzvendra Chahal, who stunned England in the final T20 with a mesmerising spell of 6/25, the best bowling performance for India in T20 internationals. He deservingly won the Man of the Series award. Kumble was reaping benefits of giving opportunities to youngsters like Kedar Jadhav and Chahal, both of whom had great series. It was a complete sweep for Kumble and India as they won all three series across formats against a formidable England, who are no pushovers in limited overs cricket.

4. One off Test against Bangladesh in 2017

Bangladesh were taking giant strides in Test cricket after holding England to a 1-1 draw at home in a 2-Test series. They were an improved side but weren’t likely to give a dominant India a stern challenge, especially at home. Bangladesh were playing their first ever Test in India, their 98th overall. India piled on 687 for 6 on the back of Kohli’s 204, his fourth straight double hundred in as many series. Every batsman, barring KL Rahul and Ashwin, went past 50 as Bangladesh were staring down the barrel. They fought hard but could not avoid defeat. Ashwin and Jadeja yet again were the wrecker in chief. They snapped 12 wickets between themselves to bowl India to a 208-run win.

5. Australia in India 2017

It was a series which was marred by acrimony as both sides competed fiercely in the 4-Test series. India were stunned by Smith’s men as the captain played a blinder of an innings in the third essay of the game which promoted Australia to emerge victorious in the first Test at Pune by a hefty 333 runs. The strong India batting capitulated in both innings against some average spin bowling of Steve O’Keefe, who ended the game with identical figures in both innings: 6/35. This was Kumble’s toughest defeat as India coach but he kept calm, asking to focus on the process. India came back in the serious in style winning the next Test at Bengaluru by 75 runs. Ranchi Test ended in a tame draw which made the Dharamsala Test the deciding game of the series.

In the third Test at Ranchi, Kohli had injured his shoulder. In the media, Kohli was absolutely against to play himself in the next game if he wasn’t 100 per cent. Behind the scenes, reportedly, Kohli was keen in playing. Anil Kumble did not want to risk his skipper, which apparently didn’t go well with Kohli. The incumbent skipper wasn’t a part of the team meeting between Kumble and Rahane, the stand-in captain. It was decided to give young Kuldeep Yadav a debut at Dharamsala without Kohli’s approval, which reportedly sparked a rift between the two. Kuldeep Yadav eventually played a big part in the 8-wicket win at Dharamsala as India won their 4th straight series since Kumble’s appointment. The miscommunication between the coach and captain did not come out in the media but started doing the round at the conclusion of the IPL in the last week of May.

6. ICC Champions Trophy 2017

As India headed to England, there was a lot spoken about the alleged rift between Kohli and Kumble. Both kept mum and did not speak at all in the said manner. The higher officials were reportedly informed by the captain about how Kumble’s studious approach was intimidating for him and his teammates. Jumbo had won 8 out of 9 series since been in charge of the team but the results transcended the ongoing fallout. The cracks started getting wider as the tournament came closer.

India continued their ascendancy over rivals Pakistan in their first group game and were widely tipped as the favourites by expert after the 124-run win. Sri Lanka shocked India by bashing them by 7 wickets in a chase of 323 which put India’s spot in the semis under jeopardy. Kohli’s men produced a lion-hearted performance against South Africa winning the game by 8 wickets. They were then pitted against Bangladesh, who had won just one out of three games but were lucky to get into the final four.

Another easy win by 9-wickets saw them into the finals, facing old rivals Pakistan again. Pakistan ridiculed India in the big game as Indian top order failed to come to terms with a devastating spell bowled by Mohammad Amir. Defending their title, India produced an average performance winning just 3 out of 5 games in the mega event. The loss in the final hurt but the margin was alarming: 180 runs. Agreed, Pakistan had resurrected their campaign by producing world-class performances, India still were the heavier team and collapsed adversely to be all out for a paltry 158.

The result of this tournament did not matter at all as Kumble was fighting a lost battle. The CAC tried to level the differences between both of them but it was deemed as irreparable. He worked tirelessly with the team, feeding throw downs to almost every batsman and sometimes by bowling his leg-spinners – which fetched him a record 619 Test scalps – and bowling left-arm spin to eradicate a weakness of a batsman against that type of bowling.

In the end, Kumble had to gracefully hand in his resignation as his conscience wouldn’t have allowed him to continue as India coach.