Team India leaves for West Indies tour without Anil Kumble

After finishing the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 as the runners up, Team India left for its next tour at hand to West Indies. However, it is learnt that team’s Head Coach Anil Kumble did not accompany the team as it left on Tuesday. He is likely to join them later. Issues between Kumble and team’s captain Virat Kohli came into prominence during the Champions Trophy and the relation between the two is known to be too sour to be reinstated. Kumble will attend a meeting in London, presumably regarding the same, and then join the team in the Caribbean for the tour. READ: Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav named in Indian squad for West Indies tour; Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah rested

ANI reported via a tweet, “Anil Kumble didn’t accompany Indian team to West Indies today, will join the team after attending ICC meeting in London: BCCI Sources”. Kumble, whose term as the Head Coach of the team was supposed to end with the Champions Trophy, was handed an extension to act as the same till India tour of West Indies as the tour was closely scheduled. Earlier, The Telegraph had quoted a BCCI official as saying, “Kohli is very clear about where he stands vis-a-vis Kumble. It seems the relationship is beyond the repair stage, at least from Kohli’s side. However, the CAC will now meet Kumble and see if a patch-up is possible.”

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Anil Kumble didn’t accompany Indian team to West Indies today, will join the team after attending ICC meeting in London: BCCI Sources pic.twitter.com/pOPaLgvlbF

— ANI (@ANI_news) June 20, 2017

Though things have not been alright between the coach-captain duo, it will be unfair to sack Kumble totally on the basis of the personal rift, as India have tasted much success during his tenure. “Kumble’s track record as head coach is almost without a blemish. How does one remove him? On what grounds? To what extent should the captain have a say? Also, can we have a situation where Kohli, no matter how successful and brilliant he is, gets complete charge? Big questions need to be settled,” the same source had mentioned.

India will play five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and one Twenty20 International (T20) in West Indies.