Anil Kumble respond to accusations of leaking information to journalists over WhatsApp

Earlier this year, Indian cricket passed through a phase of turmoil which saw the then- national team coach Anil Kumble step down from the helm following a rift with skipper Virat Kohli. Due to differences with the captain, Kumble quit as India coach on June 30 after the culmination of the ICC Champions Trophy. He was appointed by BCCI in 2016 for a one-year period. Currently, the team is coached by Ravi Shastri, who was elected following Kumble’s exit.

Although the Kohli-Kumble saga didn’t have a serious toll on the team’s performance apart from the CT final loss, the media didn’t miss out on creating various speculations. One such vague hypothesis was Kumble had created a WhatsApp group with journalists and was “leaking” team information to them.

On Saturday, Kumble was awarded the “Coach of the Year” honour at Sports Writers Association of Bangalore (SWAB) annual awards ceremony 2017. It was in the event that the 47-year-old veteran chose to break his silence. India’s highest wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs, Kumble took a dig at those who spread the rumour about WhatsApp group, by making an apologetic plea to the journalists.

“Sorry to all journalists for not putting you all in my WhatsApp group,” Kumble said at the event.

Kumble praise Virat

A senior official of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was quoted as saying by media outlet DNA, “We’ve been told that there is a WhatsApp group created by Kumble of his few trusted media friends and few confidential talks between him and senior players were leaked through that.”

After receiving the award, he even praised Virat Kohli-led India and backed them to create history in South Africa, where they play three Tests. And before he walked off the stage with his trophy, there came the parting shot, referring to WhatsApp group.