In the last couple of days, much has happened in the Indian cricketing circles away from the cricketing pitch, with reports emerging about how current head coach Anil Kumble is unlikely to get an extension in his contract post the Champions Trophy, as the players are not entirely happy with his style of coaching.

Ahead of the first clash in the ICC Champions Trophy against Pakistan, team India’s preparation is in full swing and the players might seem to be in a positive mindset as Pakistan never defeated India is big events. But behind closed doors, it seems to be a different story making up.

A few days after the BCCI opened the doors for applications for the post of the team’s next head coach, reports are now emerging that the Indian players are unhappy with the workings of Anil Kumble. He is the current team India coach and one of the most respected players in the country.

According to the reports, all the players are unhappy with the way their freedom is being muted and they are unable to express themselves freely. It is said that they have approached the CoA (Council of Administration), expressing their discontent with the workings of their head coach Anil Kumble.

Earlier, the primary reason for the BCCI search for a new coach was attributed to the Board’s unhappiness over Anil Kumble’s fancy demands, including a hike in fees and a separate ‘captaincy fees’ for Virat Kohli. This seems to be an unnecessary distraction for the Indian players, who have, till now, not come out in the open regarding the coach-search.

Skipper Virat Kohli had stated that the same procedure will be followed this time, as it was done in June last year before Kumble got the job. Under Kumble’s guidance, the Indian team has identified a core group of players for the future and has done exceedingly well in the last one year, winning all but one Test match in their 13-Test home season.

Earlier today, a report claimed, albeit unofficially, that the spat between Kumble and skipper Virat Kohli began ahead of the Ranchi Test in March against Australia, when the former was in favor of handing left-arm chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the game while the latter disagreed with the idea of doing so.

“This may or may not be the reason. But we believe the people in the corridors of power have been told that Kumble is overbearing and doesn’t give freedom to the players. It’s sad that aspersions are cast on a legend of Indian cricket.” an official told.

As far as Kumble’s replacement is concerned, Rahul Dravid seems to be the front-runner at the moment. Dravid is also the coach of the India-A and U-19 teams and was also the mentor-coach of the Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2017. Since then, though, things have gotten murkier with reports emerging on Sunday that former India batsman Virender Sehwag was asked to put his name in the hat for the top job.

Hopefully, the situation isn’t as bad as it was a decade back, especially because Kumble is a highly respected legend who has helped mentor some of the best talents in the country over the years. So, we have to wait and see what happens in the near future and who will take the responsibility of team India coach.