'When Kohli raised young players' issues with Kumble's disciplinarian approach, I spoke to Sachin Tendulkar': Vinod Rai

Vinod Rai, the chief of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, that ran the BCCI for three years starting from January 2017, said he had taken the "the lead in the speaking to Sachin Tendulkar" after then India captain Virat Kohli informed him about younger players in the team feeling "intimidated" by Anil Kumble's style of coaching. Rai, whose recently released book 'Not Just a Nightwatchman: My Innings in the BCCI' threw light on the much-talked-about exit of Anil Kumble as Team India head coach after the Champions Trophy in 2017, said the legendary leg-spinner not having an extension clause in his contract was very surprising.

"See, I have on record said that we couldn’t have got a better coach than Kumble and we could have treated a cricketing legend like him much better. I find it intriguing that he was given a one-year term in 2016, while his predecessor (Ravi Shastri) was given two years term. Kumble was not only given one-year tenure but also there was no extension clause in his contract. Had there been an extension clause, I would have readily extended it," Rai told Firstpost.

Also Read | A drunk MI player hung me from 15th floor balcony: Chahal's startling revelation

Kumble was appointed as India's head coach in 2016. He was picked by Cricket Affairs Committee (CAC) led by Sachin Tendulkar which had Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman as its members.

Rai said he approached Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman after speaking to captain Virat Kohli about the Kumble matter.

"It was on this issue that Ram Guha was upset. He wanted us to automatically extend his term. Now, just imagine if we had extended the term, and somebody only to embarrass the CoA had gone to court, he could have easily stalled our move. So, I decided to follow the process and let Kumble be an automatic inclusion in the process. But when Virat Kohli raised the issue of younger players being intimidated by Kumble’s disciplinarian approach, I took the lead in speaking to Sachin Tendulkar.

"I saw myself as a rank outsider. Why would players listen to me? But if someone like Sachin (Tendulkar), Sourav (Ganguly) or VVS (Laxman) speaks to the team management or the players, there is a greater chance of a breakthrough. Still, I believe the entire episode could have been handled 100 times better," he added.

Kumble, India's leading wicket-taker in both ODIs and Tests, decided to step down from the head coach's position after the Champions Trophy in 2017.