Virat Kohli made the scapegoat as Anil Kumble steps down

Anil Kumble’s relationship with Virat Kohli was not at its best since the Rajkot Test against England. There were reports on the Indian captain being unhappy with Anil Kumble’s style of coaching and his dominating personality. This has been doing rounds in the media for quite a while now.

Virat Kohli has been bashed by the fans for his “arrogance” but there is another side to this story as well. It was not only the 28-year-old who had a problem with the task master Kumble but there were some other senior players as well. There were reports flying around some time ago that along with the Indian captain a few others also hated the coach’s regime.

This resignation of Kumble saw fans take a dig at the Indian captain but was he really at fault? He was not the only one to have a problem besides if there was a problem, then something must have been wrong with Anil’s way of conducting the sessions as well.

Virat the scapegoat

Virat Kohli is an outspoken individual, he is someone who does not hold his feelings back. He did the same in this case and after Kumble resigned, everyone blamed him for the same. But Virat is not the only reason for his resignation. There were a bunch of players who had a problem with Kumble’s ways of getting things done and Virat being the captain has been held responsible.

Also, the timing of his statement went against the captain. India just faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals and the fans were divided because of this. There was resentment among the fans and that worked against the Indian captain as he was further bashed by the fans.

The team was getting the results but was there the required harmony among the players and the coach? The same thing happened during the Chappel-era when the Indian team was getting the wins but there was a fallout between the senior and the junior players which caused the misery of 2007 World Cup.

Anil Kumble’s resignation is not just because Virat Kohli was unhappy. A few months ago, Kumble had demanded a salary hike for himself and the players. He was earning a whopping 7.5 crores at the time and wanted a 150% salary hike. BCCI was utterly disappointed with the demands and this also played a role in his resignation.

Anil Kumble’s flawed statement

Anil Kumble penned down a full page length statement and posted it on Twitter and other social media handles. There were a lot of fans who immediately reacted to the statement. However, Anil Kumble’s statement is a bit untrue. He said that he was unaware of his dispute with Virat until BCCI informed him about the same. But there were reports in the media from a long time ago.

This was covered by every news portal and was discussed to lengths by the cricketing circles. Virat Kohli was even asked about the same in his pressers. Anil Kumble clearly states in his statements saying, “I was informed for the first time yesterday by the BCCI that the Captain had reservations with my ‘style’ and about my continuing as the Head Coach. I was surprised since I had always respected the role boundaries between Captain and Coach.”

Now it is down to every individual as what to make of this statement. Is Virat the only person to be blamed for his departure? The fans need a reality check on this matter as if there was a problem, only one party cannot be at fault.