Anil Kumble resigned !!

The superstar coach of Indian cricket team has resigned due to rift with the superstar captain Virat Kohli. And the way BCCI has poorly handled the whole episode. BCCI had invited for applications of Indian head coach the day Indian team reached England for the just concluded Champions Trophy! And the rift between two of them has become a public talk.

A captain shouldn't choose the coach of the team. Virat Kohli is a great cricketer, no doubt on that but he shouldn't think himself bigger than the game. How come he dare to inform BCCI that he is not happy the way Anil Kumble is coaching the team? Don't know who the other cricketers are who are also unhappy along with Virat. But Kumble has produced great result with his work ethics. And Indian team has been benefited by this. The team has again secured the No.1 rank in Test cricket late last year which they still possess. CAC had choosen the coach. Now CAC comprised of 3 legendary Indian cricketers- Saurav, Sachin & Laxman. And CAC wanted Kumble to continue. Who can sack Kumble from the post of the head coach after such great achievements in last 12 months?

Do the students know everything that the teacher doesn't have to teach any more? Then why do we talk about continuous learning? A student is good when he is willing to learn & during the time of teaching, the teacher could scold you but that is for the betterment of yours. Everyone has the same opinion on that. Abinav Bindra said that he never loved his coach but that person was his best coach.

But Virat Kohli will surely loose his cricket fan base with this attitude & he will be under tremendous pressure to perform. Though he has won this set, but all eyes will be on his performance. 

Apathy of Indian pace bowlers

There is always a concern about the pace attack of 'Men in blue' & this gets more exposed when India plays in the pace friendly decks of England, Australia, South Africa & New-Zealand. It is not like that India never produced quality fast bowlers. They come into the team with fierce actions & great statistics. But soon after some matches, their average pace came down & many a times, they faded away.

India has produced Kapil Dev, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Varun Aroon, Umesh Yadav, VRV Singh, Md. Shami. Many of them were, are match winners. Hope you remember that spell of Ishant against Ricky Ponting in an Australian wicket in 2008. He had speed, he had aggression. But soon after he was injured & his speed came down. Although he is still one of the spearhead of Indian attack now. Same story goes with Munaf who took seven wickets in his debut test against England. But now? Remember Irfan Pathan? Many were speaking that India has got a Wasim Akram in him. Wasim was also very positive about him, started his career with a bang, took a test hattrick. Then slowly he has disappeared. How many fast bowlers India has changed in last 2-3 years time? 

The neighboring country Pakistan is producing one after another fast bowlers & they have a tradition of that. Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoib Akhtar & these days Md. Amir, Juniad Khan - all are classy fast bowlers. Is this more about the environment where a person born? May be, yes. In Pakistan, they play more with tennis balls where you can't do much with the technique. Only the pace can help to beat the batsman. 

Kapil Dev was the highest test wicket takers for a long time.But whenever there is a discussion among the parents, they want to make their children Sachin, Saurav, Virat & very few will speak about Kapil Dev or Glenn McGrath or a Brett Lee or Wasim Akram. In India, children can imagine about becoming a great batsman. This is a phobia. And the obvious reason is the glamour around a batsman is more than of a bowler in India. Batsman is like a national obsession in our country. Every child gets inspiration to become a batsman. Because he/she is visualizing the glamour quotient of a batsman in our country. I have heard people of speaking about facility. But I don't think if we really provide high class facility also, great bowlers will born. This is more about the mindset, the environment. 

And another very important factor is the wicket. Indian wickets are more batting friendly. And the fans want that too. They want to see more 4s & 6s. This is entertainment. How many of us really want to see a game where a bowler is continuously bowling great swings & troubling the batsmen? 

Need of the hour is a long term plan. BCCI is the richest cricket body in the World. They have to identify the raw talent at a very early age. They have to bring these kids under one roof, have to prepare them, inspire them to become a great pacer. Domestic tournament wickets should be a bit more bowler friendly. Hard bouncy tracks should be prepared. Then definitely things will change & India will also see great pacers who will be bowling fast, swing the ball in both ways & in no time bowlers also will help us to win matches more frequently.