Virat Kohli mentioned that younger members of team felt 'intimidated' by Anil Kumble's approach: Vinod Rai

Vinod Rai, who headed the Committee of Administrators (CoA), has opened up on the captain-coach rift witnessed in the Indian team in 2017 in his book ‘Not Just a Nightwatchman — My Innings in the BCCI’. The Cricket Advisory Committee, which comprised legendary cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman, had tried to reestablish the relationship between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble. However, it did not work out, leading to a painful end to the chapter.

It has to be noted that Kohli was not pleased with Kumble’s approach during the legendary spinner’s tenure as the head coach of India. Post the Champions Trophy final in 2017, Kumble stepped down from his role and the matter did seem to vanish after a while until Rai brought it up again in his book.

It was conveyed that Anil Kumble was too much of a disciplinarian: Vinod Rai

Rai noted that he had come to know that Kumble was quite focused on player discipline which did not excite the team. He added Kohli had revealed that the youngsters in the team felt ‘intimidated’ by Kumble’s approach.

“In my conversations with the captain and team management, it was conveyed that Kumble was too much of a disciplinarian and hence the team members were not too happy with him. I had spoken to Virat Kohli on the issue and he did mention that the younger members of the team felt intimidated by the way he worked with them,” Rai was quoted as saying in excerpts published by The Indian Express.

Rai also noted the conversations with Kumble and revealed how disappointed the latter was with the issue. He added that Kumble felt it was unfair treatment to him as head coach of the India team, while Rai himself opined on the controversy stating that Kumble deserved respect from the players.

“We had long conversations with Kumble after he had returned from the UK. He was obviously upset about the manner in which the entire episode had panned out. He felt he had been unfairly treated and a captain or team should not be given so much importance. It was the duty of the coach to bring discipline and professionalism into the team and as a senior, his views should have been respected by the players,” he added.