Anil Kumble
Former India skipper and head coach Anil Kumble has backed Wasim Jaffer after the ex-opener on Wednesday rejected allegations of adopting a communal approach during his stint as the coach of Uttarakhand side.
Earlier this week, Jaffer stepped down as Uttarakhand's head coach due to "interference in team selection", days before they were to compete in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. After Jaffer's resignation, Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) officials made allegations that he tried to force religion-based selections in the team, which the 42-year-old denied in a virtual press conference.
Jaffer said the charge that he favoured Muslim players caused him immense pain. "...jo communal angle lagaya (the communal angle that has been brought up), that is very, very sad.
"They levelled an allegation that I am in favour of Iqbal Abdulla, I wanted to make Iqbal Abdulla as the captain, which is absolutely wrong," he said.
Jaffer was appointed as the head coach of the state team in June 2020. He had signed a one-year contract with CAU.
Extending support towards Jaffer, Kumble wrote in a tweet that it's the players who will miss the former opener's mentorship. "With you Wasim. Did the right thing. Unfortunately, it's the players who'll miss your mentorship," wrote Kumble.
Apart from playing together for the national side, Kumble and Jaffer are also associated with IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). While Kumble is the head coach of the Punjab outfit, Jaffer is the batting coach for the KL Rahul-led side.
