'Anil Kumble felt he was forced to resign as head coach by Virat Kohli'

When Anil Kumble quit as the head coach of the Indian men's cricket team in 2017, he was not a happy man and felt that he was treated 'unfairly' by the then Indian captain Virat Kohli and other players. 

"In my conversations with the captain and team management, it was conveyed that Kumble was too much of a disciplinarian and hence the team members were not too happy with him," Rai has written in his book 'Not Just A Nightwatchman: My Innings with BCCI', published by Rupa Publications.

In the book, he has also mentioned that Kumble felt he was unfairly treated by the team and that a captain should not have got so much power in hand. 

"In my conversations with the captain and team management, it was conveyed that Kumble was too much of a disciplinarian and hence the team members were not too happy with him," Rai has written in his book.

"I had spoken to Virat Kohli on the issue and he did mention that the younger members of the team felt intimidated by the way he worked with them."

Rai reveals that the then Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman had recommended Kumble's re-appointment.

"Soon, the CAC met in London and interacted with the two separately in a bid to resolve the issue. After deliberations over three days, they decided to recommend Kumble's reappointment as the head coach."

However it was evident from what followed was that Kohli's point of view was given more respect and hence Kumble's position became untenable.

"We had long conversations with Kumble after he had returned from the UK. He was obviously upset about the manner in which the entire episode had panned out. He felt he had been unfairly treated and a captain or team should not be given so much importance.

"It was the duty of the coach to bring discipline and professionalism into the team and as a senior, his views should have been respected by the players,"wrote Rai.