Alas, putting to rest weeks of intense speculation and denial, the worst fears of the Indian cricket community came true last night, when news of Anil Kumble stepping down as Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team broke through.
In a sharply worded statement shared on social media, Kumble thanked the Cricket Advisory Committee for backing him to continue, the team and his support staff for the achievements in his tenure.
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But the anguish in his words was not to be missed as he revealed the captain’s reservations with his coaching style and admitted his further continuing as the Head Coach was not in best interests, as the partnership had become ‘untenable’.
However, while the unfortunate news comes as a shock to one and all, this was not the first instance of a coach-captain relationship souring and is surely not going to be the last of it either.
Reasons are aplenty, but one can safely say results are not always one among them. Coaching in international cricket goes beyond mere strategizing or technical inputs and is more a man-management challenge.
As a result, great players haven’t necessarily turned out to be effective coaches. On the other hand, many a low profile coaches have gone on to build successful careers.
Also Read: Reports: Kohli and Kumble had stopped communication six months ago
In a team, if the captain paints its on-field fortunes, the coach is one who provides the canvas for it. Good chemistry between the captain and the coach is paramount to the success and harmony of a team and a break-down of that can be a point of no return.
Often, the relationship between the two snowballs into a clash of personalities when both, the captain and the coach, are similarly strong individuals. The history of cricket is dotted with examples.
Let’s take a look at a few such coach-captain feuds from the past.
#1 Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell, the former Australian batsman, succeeded John Wright in the 2005 season, ironically, at the behest of the then captain Sourav Ganguly. The former India captain had recommended Chappell’s name among other strong contenders like Dav Whatmore and Tom Moody, even though the latter had little coaching experience, unlike them.
Not long after he assumed powers, Chappell asked Ganguly to relieve himself from captaincy responsibilities and focus on his batting. The left-hander had been going through a lean patch, having not scored a Test century for almost two years.
The suggestion didn’t go down well with Ganguly as he threatened to leave the team in the middle of a tour of Zimbabwe. Later, an e-mail Chappell shot to the BCCI, accusing Ganguly of desperately trying to retain his captaincy, leaked.
Reports also started to emerge that other players too were unhappy with the sense of insecurity within the team. The Aussie’s tenure as the coach finally ended with India’s shameful exit from the 2007 ODI World Cup.
#2 Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev
Two of the biggest legends in Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev never enjoyed their stint together in the Indian team. Kapil Dev was appointed the coach of the Indian team in 1999, during Sachin’s second term as India captain.
Success as a player and World Cup winning captain notwithstanding, his coaching stint did not get to the best of starts when India crashed to a heavy 0-3 defeat on the tour of Australia and ended quite soon, following the match-fixing saga that rocked Indian cricket in early 2000.
In his autobiography ‘Playing it My Way, Sachin Tendulkar gave an insight into his displeasure with Kapil’s methods as a coach and alleges the former India captain never involved in team discussions.
In the chapter titled - Tumultuous Times: India in Australia, November 1999 - January 2000, he writes, “During my second stint as captain, we had Kapil Dev as our coach. He is one of the finest cricketers to have played for India and one of the best all-rounders of all time, and I had great expectations of him in Australia.
“I have always maintained that the coach’s job is an important one, for he is in a position to play a key role in formulating team strategy. Who better than Kapil to come up with options for me during a tough tour of Australia?
“However, his method of involvement and his thought process was limited to leaving the running of the team to the captain, and hence he did not involve himself in strategic discussions that would help us on the field”.
On his part, Kapil refused to invite any controversy and remarked, “It is his opinion. As long as it is his opinion, it is fine with me. Everybody is entitled to one's opinion. I respect that. If someone has to sensationalise it, he is free to do that. I don't have anything to say or add to it,” when asked about it.
#3 Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores
Following a 0-5 whitewash in the Ashes tour of Australia and failing to move beyond the Super 8 stages of the 2007 ODI World Cup in West Indies, England appointed Peter Moores as successor to the outgoing Duncan Fletcher during the captaincy of Michael Vaughan.
Vaughan stepped down from the role in 2008 and was succeeded by the flamboyant Kevin Pietersen. The first full series for the duo was the 2008 tour of India. England lost the seven-match ODI series 0-5 and went down 0-1 in Tests.
Immediately after the disastrous tour, Pietersen conveyed his unwillingness to work with Peter Moores to the top brass of the ECB and reportedly, suggested Shane Warne’s name for the role.
Disagreements were many, including his coaching style and obsession with stats and former Michael Vaughan’s exclusion from the squad for the tour of West Indies against Pietersen's wishes.
Pietersen came out in the media and broke his silence on the issue, saying, “This situation is not healthy, we have to make sure it is settled as soon as possible and certainly before we fly off to West Indies. Everything has to be hunky dory, everybody has to have the same aims and pull in the same direction for the good of the England team."
Following an emergency meeting by the ECB, both men lost their jobs – Peter Moores was sacked, while Pietersen resigned. Till date, the duo harbour great animosity towards each other and the latter continues to make pointed remarks about his former coach.
#4 Gautam Gambhir and KP Bhaskar
Away from the glare of international cricket, one such feud that made a lot of news recently within the Indian domestic circuit was that between the coach and captain of the Delhi Ranji team. The captain is none other than Gautam Gambhir, well known to speak his mind without mincing words.
The issue first came to light when media ran reports of an ugly confrontation between Gambhir and the coach KP Bhaskar. Gambhir, while denying any untoward incident, admitted he had questioned the coach for creating an insecure environment for the youngsters in the squad.
Delhi had had a poor 2016-17 season under Bhaskar, failing to make a mark in all formats. During the season, Unmukt Chand was unceremoniously dropped just after captaining the side, whereas Nitish Rana was sent home after few games.
Gambhir said on his feud with coach Bhaskar, “If protecting a youngster is a crime, I am guilty. If making 20-22-year-olds feel secure in an insecure environment is a crime, then I am guilty. But I could not have let this man (Bhaskar) play with careers of young players like Unmukt Chand and Nitish Rana.
“I know how to deal with people. Lot of things have been said about him, about how I abused this man or that man. Lot of things are blown out of proportion. For last three years, I have been trying to give security to these young players who are all 23 or 24. There has been a culture in Delhi cricket about making players insecure.
“I have myself faced that when I was a youngster. When I got into the Ranji Trophy team, I was made to feel insecure. Then only I had decided, if I ever take charge I will never make young boys feel insecure. I backed certain boys for 2-3 years as these were the best boys to back. It is irrelevant from which club they come and we need to get this culture out of the way”
A committee set up by the DDCA to enquire into the issue recently awarded a four-match ban to Gambhir, suspended till 2019.
#5 Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis
The list will not be complete without featuring a pair from Pakistan Cricket, who have a history of such clashes of personalities and volatile team environment. The two involved here are former teammates Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis.
The first instance of sparring between the two happened way back in 2011 when a feud reportedly broke out during Pakistan’s tour of West Indies, ending up in Afridi losing his limited overs captaincy and retiring in disappointment.
Issues resurfaced in 2016 during Waqar’s second stint, when he questioned the commitment of Afridi during the Asia Cup and World T20 in a scathing report after the world event. The former Pakistani pacer accused Afridi of skipping practice and meetings and also questioned his performances on the field.
Following the tournament, Mickey Arthur was named the new coach, while Afridi announced his international retirement.
Also Read: Anil Kumble resigns: 5 biggest wins under Jumbo’s magical stewardship
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