How to solve Virat Kohli-Anil Kumble rift? Indian team manager candidates questioned

Mumbai: Job interviews aren’t always easy, especially, if you’re applying for the post of the Indian cricket team manager. Candidates who applied for the role had been asked one tricky question fired at them – How would they have handled the rift between Indian captain Virat Kohli and former India coach Anil Kumble?

This was the one common question thrown at all the 12 candidates during their job interviews in Mumbai and Delhi on Tuesday, according to a report by the Indian Express. The BCCI’s clear motive is to hire a trustworthy manager in the future who can handle such conflicts during Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri’s management before things became 'untenable' as in the case of former India coach Anil Kumble.

According to the report, the replies of the candidates were drawn between the captain having full authority and an immediate solution if the conflict arose again. Few of them even stated the importance regarding the sanctity of the dressing room that Virat Kohli addressed in reference to Anil Kumble’s resignation tweet.

This question was bound to be expected, especially after the way the previous managers zipped their lips on the issue before Anil Kumble’s resignation made the headlines. As mentioned in the report, none of the three managers had reported about the alleged rift between the India captain Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble to the higher authorities.

The managers are even supposed to fill the report on checks and balances at the end of each tour. But the only report the BCCI received came from the last manager, who was in England for the ICC Champions Trophy in June, as mentioned in the report.

In their advertisement for the job, BCCI had made it clear that “Conflict resolution and negotiation skills are mandatory requisites of a candidate and should be able to demonstrate abilities/situations that have been successfully managed during their career”.

With such a description, the logic is clear that the BCCI want to avoid of the alleged spat between the new coach Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli in the future. Discussions for the proposed candidate is still in progress and will be completed only after consulting acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and CoA chief Vinod Rai.