Anil Kumble”s sudden resignation has magnified a few glaring problems that lie within the Indian cricket set-up and clearly, Kumble”s ouster has not gone down too well with former cricketers especially Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar who has lashed out at the players after this fallout.
Kumble was a coach of results, someone who believed in pushing the limits and this was not only evident when he played for India but also obvious when he was coach of the Indian cricket team. Kumble along with Kohli registered a famous win in all formats ensuring Indian scaled new peaks.
Legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar was saddened and shocked to hear the news of Kumble”s resignation and it was no surprise that one legend came out in support of another legend. Gavaskar came down heavily on the players adding that Kumble was a ‘hard task master’ which eventually didn’t go well for some of the Indian players.
“So you want softies. You want somebody to just tell you, ‘ok boys, don’t practice today because you guys are not feeling well, ok take a holiday, go shopping’. You want that kind of a person. If somebody is a hard taskmaster and he has got you results like Anil Kumble has got over the last one year. If any of the players are complaining, I feel those players are the ones who should be left out of the team,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Gavaskar hailed Kumble”s stint as coach of Indian adding the leg-spinner was equally phenomenal as a coach like he was a player during his playing days. Gavaskar further added, “Because honestly, what Anil Kumble has achieved for India as a player and what he has achieved for India over the last one year, has been nothing short of phenomenal. So I would rather not have Anil Kumble being maligned or being bad-mouthed as a hard taskmaster or his headmasterly approach for what I have been reading in the papers.”
“But what this is sending a signal for the next coach is either bow down to what the players want you to do, otherwise you, like one of India’s cricket legends Anil Kumble, you will have to step down and that is a sad, sad, sad message,” Gavaskar added.
Gavaskar further admitted that in a group of people there will be differences and that ultimately it”s the results that matter which has been great for India under Kumble. The former India captain said, “There will always be differences in a group of more than two or three people. That’s bound to happen when you are in a tense situation… India has won everything since the time Anil took over. I can’t see Kumble doing much wrong in one year and the only reason this kind of a day has come is clear that there has to be something which didn’t quite gel in that group.”