Kumble's resignation was no great surprise, says Ian Chappell

Former Australian cricketer Ian Chappell recently gave his opinion on the ongoing turmoil surrounding the stepping down of Anil Kumble as India’s coach. The reports of internal rifts between the Indian skipper Virat Kohli and former coach Anil Kumble had surfaced a month ago. However, the Indian captain always denied any such news being true. But when Kumble abruptly stepped down from the post of the India’s coach a day after the conclusion of the ICC Champions Trophy, the rumors surfaced again.

The reports of the two men not communicating for almost 6 months came to the fore. Kohli soon deleted his welcome tweet for Kumble that he had posted last year. To add to it, the news of Kumble giving a note on the social media citing that Kohli had reservations with the coaching style he had only made things worse. In a recent column for ESPNcricinfo, Ian Chappell opined that this was always going to perspire and was inevitable.

“Kumble’s resignation was no great surprise, as he’s a strong-minded individual and the deteriorating relationship between him and the captain, Virat Kohli, had reached the stage of being a distraction,” wrote Ian Chappell.

Captain is superior

He further noted that the captain is always the superior one when it comes to the management of the team. The solitary reason for this is that he is the one responsible for taking the decisions on the field. He further added that a captain has to be strong minded and must earn the respect of his fellow team members. The moment when this happens, there is harmony in the dressing room and that is crucial for the team’s success.

“Kumble’s character is relevant to any discussion about India’s future coaching appointments. The captain is the only person who can run an international cricket team properly, because so much of the job involves on-field decision making. Also, a good part of the leadership role – performed off the field – has to be handled by the captain, as it helps him earn the players’ respect, which is crucial to his success,” conceded Chappell.

“Consequently a captain has to be a strong-minded individual and decisive in his thought process. To put someone of a similar mindset in a position where he’s advising the captain is inviting confrontation,” Ian Chappell added.