“I have delivered results with whatever players I’ve had…I have no power as national coach.” This is not Anil Kumble speaking, but Pullela Gopichand who led the revival of Indian badminton.
“India wants a coach who doesn’t do much…” No, still not Kumble, but Ric Charlesworth who coached the national hockey team, and told a reporter “If you really want to be exceptional you have to have candour.”
Kumble clearly broke the unwritten codes of coaching in India: he did a lot, he was candid, and he ignored the superstar culture. Through it all he retained his dignity. Virat Kohli will do well to file away such dignified behaviour for future reference.
Self-respect
It has been clear for some time that Kumble would have the support of neither his captain nor his cricket board. It is a tribute to his self-respect that he decided to skip the tour of the West Indies as there was uncertainty beyond that.
Back in 1974-75 when Tiger Pataudi was brought back to lead India against the West Indies, he was initially given only the first two Tests. No thank you, he said, it has to be all or nothing. Piecemeal appointments are a guaranteed way to diminish authority.
“Surely,” wrote Ramachandra Guha, when he quit as a member of the Committee of Administrators (CoA), “giving senior players the impression that they may have a veto power over the coach is another example of superstar culture gone berserk? Already, Indian players enjoy a veto power on who can be the members of the commentary team. If it is to be coaches next, then perhaps the selectors and even office-bearers will follow?”
That’s a scary thought, but often, star players are used by the governing body to do its dirty work. For there is yet another unwritten rule, the most important one: Thou shalt not displease the BCCI. The authorities cannot countenance an upright, no-nonsense professional whose focus is on the job and not on the changing politics of the cricket board.
Time to disband CAC
Sadly, the CoA comes across as namby-pamby, happy to let the situation deteriorate. It could have clarified early that Kumble made presentations regarding increased salaries for players (among other things) at its behest when that was used as a stick to beat the coach with.
Guha’s letter is an indictment of both the BCCI and the CoA. As for the Cricket Advisory Committee, mostly busy as commentators, the time has come to disband it as it seems to serve no useful purpose. It recommended that Kumble carry on, but was ignored. Any resignations in protest?
If Guha’s letter is important, Kumble’s ‘Thank You’ note is revealing too.
“Professionalism, discipline, commitment, honesty, complementary skills and diverse views are the key traits I bring to the table,” he says, the suggestion being that these traits are anathema to the players and the BCCI. Especially since he goes on to say, “these need to be valued for the partnership to be effective.”
Later he says, “I see the coach’s role akin to ‘holding a mirror’ to drive self-improvement in the team’s interest.” Perhaps Kohli didn’t like to look into the mirror, the BCCI certainly didn’t.
What happens if in the future, some players decide they don’t want Kohli as captain because he expects them to perform well? We are in the realm of speculation now, but while we are there, let us also wonder at the role played by the former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He has the stature and knows all the parties well. Did he attempt to broker peace or was he told to keep off?
In an unusually undiplomatic response, Sunil Gavaskar has said, “If any of the players are complaining, I feel those players are the ones who should be left out of the team.”
The players feel Kumble is a taskmaster. If he is paying the price for being a disciplinarian, then it is indeed, as Gavaskar has said, “a sad day for cricket.” When did hard work become something to be rejected? Why is discipline a bad word?
Kumble’s successors might realise their jobs depend not on their qualifications but on the alacrity with which they can say “Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full” at every turn.
A great player has been insulted. Worse, a system has been undermined.
