Sunil Gavaskar urges Virat Kohli to make a statement and make things clear

Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar has urged the Indian captain Virat Kohli to make things clear in the media about the recent exit of Anil Kumble as the head coach. The note addressed by Kumble after his exit has strengthened the speculations about the rift between him and Kohli. Also, Virat Kohli apparently deleted the welcome tweet he had posted for Kumble. All this has cumulated to make things look ugly in the public domain.

In a conversation with NDTV, Sunil Gavaskar has asked the media to wait until Kohli releases a statement. He also wants Kumble to clarify who informed him about Kohli’s unhappiness with his working methodologies. He feels that the situation has perspired because of the miscommunications between the team and the management.

“My advice to Virat would be to make a statement and make things clear. Kumble also needs to clarify who in the BCCI informed him about Virat’s unhappiness about him. A statement from Kohli will help clear the air, saying this is what I feel and my issue with Kumble,” said Sunil Gavaskar.

“It is because of the team and the captain not liking Anil Kumble’s methods we have come to this situation. Why not save all the trouble and ask them while they are in the West Indies, ‘Listen, you guys, who do want as coach. We have eight or ten applications or whatever applications… So who do you want as coach’ and that’s it. Simple,” he added further.

What is ‘overbearing’?

One key term that has come to the fore amidst this brouhaha is ‘overbearing’. Apparently, it was Kumble’s overbearing attitude that the players did not like in the team. They believed that Kumble as the head coach failed to win the confidence of the players. Sunil Gavaskar wants the players to clarify what exactly do they mean by this term. This will help the successor of Kumble as the Indian coach get an idea about what the players like and what they do not.

“Let’s wait and see what they found wrong in Anil Kumble. We need to also find out whether they found it overbearing and what exactly is overbearing. Let’s get a clarification also,” he quoted.

“All that I am saying because of the next coach. So the next coach knows exactly where he stands. ‘If I do this, is this going to be overbearing. If I tell you to report to practice at 9.30, is it going to be overbearing. If I say to you that I want some extra nets from you, I want you to catch 50 more catches or if I want you to bowl 20 more deliveries in the nets, is it overbearing’. For the next coach’s sake it is important that these things are clarified,” Gavaskar added further.