Cricket Advisory Committee Wanted Anil Kumble To Continue As India Coach, Admits VVS Laxman

More than a year after the controversial stepping down of Anil Kumble as the head coach of the Indian cricket team, VVS Laxman on Friday revealed that the Cricket Advisory Committee wanted the spin great to continue.

Kumble reigned from the post in June 2017, citing differences with the captain Virat Kohli and added that his position had become untenable.

Reflecting on the tumultuous phase that gripped Indian cricket during last year's Champions Trophy, Laxman said the episode left a "bitter taste in the mouth".

Laxman was one of the members of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) member constituted to find the coach for the national team. Other members of the panel are Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. The panel picked Kumble as the coach in 2016.

He said the panel wanted Kumble to continue as India's coach but the former captain was bent on quitting after his fallout with Kohli last year.

However, the appointment didn't quite work out as Kumble and Kohli's difference of opinions spiralled into a full-blown public fallout which culminated into Kumble stepping down.

"I don't think Kohli crossed the line. We at the CAC thought Anil should continue as coach but he thought the right decision was to quit and move ahead. It left a bitter taste in the mouth," Laxman said at the 'India Today South Conclave' at Visakhapatnam.

"What I did not like was the way he was getting bad press during the Champions Trophy. The CAC wanted Anil to continue and the entire episode was very unfortunate," Laxman said.

"I always tell people CAC are not marriage counsellors. We were tasked with selecting the best possible job. We did a very elaborate process - unfortunately, Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble did not work out," he added.

(With Agency inputs)