CHENNAI: It has been a week since Anil Kumble was named as the head coach of India. Since then, two support staff have been named and Kumble has already started the first camp in Bengaluru. But, all the talk and attention over the week has been on the omission of former team director Ravi Shastri.
The tiff between Shastri and Sourav Ganguly — one of the members of the cricket advisory committee which interviewed the candidates for head coach — continues to go on with each day taking a new twist. But at the moment, Shastri at least is winning few friends in the BCCI as well as among former players.
While Sanjay Manjrekar and Gautam Gambhir have openly backed the committee’s choice of Kumble, they have been vocal about Shastri’s rejection.
“More than Sourav, I think Ravi is miffed with the rejection. It’s a new experience for him. BCCI have made the better choice as coach,” tweeted Manjrekar. Gambhir told a news channel: “Ravi Shastri’s comments only shows his desperation. Kumble is the best choice, he is hard working person”
Ever since Kumble was pitted against Shastri in the run up to the interview, there were indications even BCCI was heavily against the team director getting another term. Certain seciton within the BCCI even felt Shastri (`7crore per year) was being overpaid.
BCCI’s argument is: “What exactly did Shastri do over the period of 18 months? Although the board appreciates the work he put in especially when the team was in shambles a couple of years ago, the team hasn’t won anything significant. He helped players get the confidence, but coaching wise he had three support staff too. The committee (CAC) spoke to various players and we took their feedback and only after that Kumble was appointed.”
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