Virat Kohli vs Anil Kumble: The fallout, resignation saga 4 years ago

As soon as Virat Kohli announced his decision to step down as India’s T20 captain after the 2021 World Cup, reports suggest that former coach Anil Kumble is likely to replace Ravi Shastri. Kumble guided the men in blue for a brief period from 2016 to 2017. He had resigned after a fall-out with the then-skipper Kohli. 

Current head coach Ravi Shastri’s tenure end after the T20 World Cup. Talking to the Guardian, the 1983 World Cup winner hinted at his intentions to not continue at the position. Shastri was made coach in 2017. 

“I believe so because I’ve achieved all I wanted. Five years as No.1 (in Test cricket), to win in Australia twice, to win in England. I believe one thing – never overstay your welcome,” he said. 

However, with Kumble’s name coming up, it is natural that the team dynamic will change. Afterall Vinod Rai-led BCCI did pick Kohli over Kumble (captain over coach) four years ago. 

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Here is the spat between Kohli and Kumble presented in brief:

Anil Kumble was appointed head coach by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman in June 2016. 

The maestro leg-spinner started off with a series win against the West Indies. However, it was in March 2017 that reports of a disagreement between Kohli and Kumble over selection of chinaman Kuldeep Yadav emerged. 

Also read: Little surprising: Former chief selector on Virat Kohli’s T20 captaincy decision

In May 2017, when Kumble was running for reappointment, reports of a fall-out between Kumble and Kohli surfaced. The skipper and certain members of the team, reportedly, were unhappy with the coach’s ‘overbearing’ attitude. 

In June, Kohli denied any rift with head coach Kumble ahead of India’s Champions Trophy. 

However, Kumble resigned on June 20, 2017. He did not go for the West Indies tour with the team and remained in London. He said it was in the best interest of Indian cricket for him to ‘move on’.