The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) invited applications for Team India's head coach's position, sending a reminder to current coach Anil Kumble that he will not get an automatic extension after his current term expires at the end of Champions Trophy.
The announcement, which came hours after the Indian team left for England to defend their Champions Trophy title, has left many baffled as Kumble, who succeeded Ravi Shastri as India team coach, guided the squad to a successful home season where the team won 10 out of 13 Tests against Austrlia, England, New Zealand and Bangladesh.
While Kumble, being the current coach, gets a "direct entry" into the interview process, the timing of BCCI's announcement made it clear that the top brass has not exactly been happy with the legendary leg-spinner. The reason being the aggressive stance asking for a massive hike in central contracts for players and his own salary.
Reacting to the development, former India cricketer and India TV expert, Chetan Sharma, said Kumble should have definitely got an extension as coach.
"If you can give three years' time to the selectors, you should also give the same time to the coach because one year is too short a period to measure anybody's performance. It was a wonderful season under Kumble. Seeing the current scenario, they should not think twice before giving Kumble an extension," Chetan told India TV.
The former fast bowler, who has played 23 Tests and 65 one-day internationals, also lambasted the board officials for their attitude.
"We should not forget that BCCI has never let anybody, who can pose a threat to them, stay for long. BCCI never listens to the players. They have always done what they felt was right. Only IS Bindra and Jagmohan Dalmiya, as administrators, looked after the players. But the officials, in recent times, are angry with the fact that how can Anil Kumble to directly to the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and negotiate the money-related matters with them. Why didn't he (Kumble) had a word with us first?," he added.
Echoing Chetan's views on this, former India batsman Yashpal Sharma said the timing of the announcement was not right.
Yashpal, a former middle-order batsman who has played 37 Tests for the country, felt these things will only hamper the environment of the dressing room before such a mega tournament.
"Timing of the announcement was not correct. This is not a professional approach. The board could have waited for the Champions Trophy to get over. They could have done everything after the end of the tournament. These sort of things will hamper the environment of the dressing room," he said.
"It also puts extra burden on the coach and on the captain. These things also creates a lot of confusion in the team which directly effects the performance of the team. Kumble should definitely get a extension for another year," he added.
