Anurag Thakur comes in support of Virat Kohli in the captain-coach controversy

The blame game has become murkier with Virat Kohli being made the scapegoat for the recent rift between him and coach Anil Kumble and his subsequent resignation from the post. The resignation letter tendered by Anil to the BCCI ignited fireworks where he called the relationship between him and Virat ‘untenable’. Though Virat had spoken that he has immense respect for Anil, the cricketing fraternity is still not convinced.

It’s obvious that the recent situation has been weighing badly on the skipper for the past week. But Anurag Thakur’s comment can come as a solace for Virat. The former BCCI president said that the 28-year-old has been unnecessarily blamed for the fiasco and that there have been no proven grounds to hold him responsible. He feels that Board should protect him as he is the future captain of India.

Anurag in favour of Kohli

“Virat is being unreasonably targeted, I think the discussion should stop. Virat has the ability to take Indian cricket to new heights in the next 10 years. This is not the first time that a cricketer is being targeted. In the past too, captains and former captains have been targeted,” Thakur was quoted as saying by TOI.

After Anil’s resignation, Virat has broken his silence about the matter. He spoke highly of the former coach as a cricketer and how he respected the legendary leg-spinner. But he didn’t divulge the dressing room talks which led to the rift, and that has led the matter to snowball.

BCCI mis-handled the situation

“The previous BCCI setup was more adept at handling such situations. People should give the Board credit that it honoured the Cricket Advisory Committee’s recommendation but also gave Kumble only a one- year contract so that the Board was free to take a call if there were to be any problems,” Anurag assumed.

The Lok Sabha member and present Head of Himachal Pradesh Olympic Committee is surprised that such personal bickerings between captain and coach are made public and held the BCCI responsible for it. He also questioned whether there was any lapse during the selection of Anil as coach that led to this impasse.

“We never allowed such things to be leaked. When Kumble was offered a one-year contract, nobody said that they had any objection to it. In the 7-8 months of Anil’s contract when we were in charge, nobody spoke of any problem between them (Kumble and Virat). Questions should be asked from those who are running the Board now as to how these circumstances have risen,” he concluded.