Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Birmingham, Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur, with captain Sarfraz Ahmed sitting next to him, said today: “All I know is that the captain-coach relationship is almost like a marriage.”
Minutes later, Virat Kohli, sporting a straight face, insisted that his relationship with Anil Kumble is perfectly fine. Nothing wrong at all.
No possibility of a divorce, then, if we extend Arthur’s marriage analogy to Kumble and Kohli.
Kohli said the reports of a rift between him and Kumble are lies, speculation and kite-flying, done by people (media) who are trying to create “some nice livelihood” for themselves.
“We’re focused on our livelihood, which is on the field and that’s all that we’re going to focus on,” he added. “And unless — I will just say one thing — unless someone is part of something, I don’t think they should sit at a distance and speculate and give judgments on what’s happening (in the dressing room). I’m not here to give judgments on anyone’s life. And as cricketers we just focus on the Champions Trophy.”
Quiet praise
The rift theory was given a great deal of credence by the resignation of Ramchandra Guha, the historian, from the Committee of Administrators (CoA) yesterday. Among other critical issues such as conflict of interest, Guha also addressed the manner in which the Kumble issue had been handled by BCCI.
Another factor had given credence to the rift theory —and Kohli had a key role in that factor. When, after reaching England, he was specifically asked to comment on Kumble’s performance as coach over the last one year, Kohli seemed very, very reluctant to speak highly of Kumble. That’s the impression everyone got from what Kohli had said, which was this: “Obviously, when you have results come your way, the contribution is from every part of the team. It’s not from a single source, to say the least. Everyone works hard equally, if not more than the other person.”
Very quiet praise
Today, too, Kohli was provided the opportunity to speak highly of Kumble — he was specifically asked about how good it had been to work with Kumble over the last one year. This was Kohli’s response today: “It’s been really good. The whole journey has been good… Yeah, it’s been good.”
Now, Kohli is a very eloquent man, and he likes to answer the questions from the media fully and to the best of his ability. He treats the questions with respect and takes time to answer them. That being the case, his responses to the questions on Kumble’s performance and role in India’s success seems very inadequate. Is it deliberate? Only Kohli knows.
