The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had shocked the cricket fraternity by coming up with an advertisement for the head coach role even as Anil Kumble was holding the post in May. Moreover, the governing body got its timing absolutely wrong as it had called for applications just ahead of India's Champions Trophy defence in England.
Even as the BCCI confirmed the call for applications was part of the process, speculations were rife that there was a rift between Kumble and Team India skipper Virat Kohli. With every passing day, rumour mills kept churning out more stories and the cricket board, apart from a loosely-worded statement, did nothing to douse the fire in the camp.
Kumble reportedly was 'overbearing' and some even went on to say that the former India leg-spinner and Kohli were not on talking terms for quite a while. The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, tried to broker peace during the Champions Trophy campaign and even reportedly suggested there was no big divide in the dressing room.
However, Kumble stunned cricket fraternity with an unforeseen resignation right after India lost to Pakistan in the final of the quadrennial event last month. The then coach did not even accept the offer to tour West Indies with Kohli's men but stepped down before calling his relationship with the captain "untenable".
While Kumble's resignation was seen as the outcome of the rift between him and Kohli, a few reported that the BCCI were not happy with Kumble meeting the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) often and thus used the India skipper as a pawn to boot out the then coach.
While the Kumble-Kohli episode helped show Indian cricket in a bad light, the BCCI's shoddy approach while selecting the former's successor and the support staff has only added fuel to fire.
The indecision over the appointment of Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan as consultants is demeaning the stature of the two Indian legends.
Kumble, Dravid and Zaheer were true greats of the game who gave it all on the field. They did not deserve this public humiliation.
— Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) July 16, 2017
Instead of handing the responsibility of selecting the support staff to coach Shastri himself, the CAC, who were rushed by the CoA to make a hurried announcement after the completion of interview process on July 10, went beyond the brief to select Dravid and Khan as consultants.
While the BCCI even went on to announce the role and tenures of the newly-appointed support staff, the CoA has made a U-turn on its decision, saying there "is no such thing as contract yet" for Dravid and Khan, according to the Times of India.
Notably, Shastri has been maintaining that he is happy to accommodate Dravid and Khan in part-time roles, but that he wants to choose his own support staff -- Bharat Arun as bowling coach.
The CoA has now formed yet another panel to look into the issue surrounding the appointment of support staff. The four-member committee will reportedly consult Shastri on July 19, the day India departs for Sri Lanka, to decide on the appointment of support staff.
While the CAC maintained that it had consulted Shastri and the BCCI over the announcement of support staff, former CoA member Vikram Limaye still insists that the three-member committee was not asked to pick the support staff, but only interview shortlisted candidates, who had applied for head coach role, according to the Times of India.
Notably, Dravid already has U19 and India A teams to take care of, while it will be inappropriate if Khan has to forgo his Indian Premier League commitments just to work with the national team on a part-time basis.
Regardless of who is at fault for the muzzy situation, it is safe to say Khan and Dravid are being humiliated. The two experienced cricketers, who have shown interest to come forward and give inputs for the betterment of Kohli's team, need not have to go through this.
