Rahul Dravid not impressed with handling of Anil Kumble saga, shocked by some of Virat Kohli’s antics

Former Indian captain and legend Rahul Dravid has finally broken his silence and spoken on the Anil Kumble saga, where Kumble had tendered his resignation citing differences with captain Virat Kohli. Dravid is currently coaching India A and under-19 team and had played for India not too long ago.

Dravid, Kumble’s long-time teammate at Karnataka and in the Indian cricket team, said he was not pleased with the way the incident was played out in the media and the incident damaged Indian cricket’s reputation. However, Dravid made it sure he did not blame captain Kohli in any which way while discussing the issue at the Bangalore Literature Festival.

Dravid further added that the incident should not have played out in the media the way it did and felt that Kumble was hard done by the incident and given the way Kumble had coached the team before his departure it was not needed and the controversy could have been avoided. Former India captain Anil Kumble had earlier stepped down from his position as head coach after the ICC Champions Trophy and had said that relationship with Kohli had become ‘untenable’. Ravi Shastri is currently coaching team India after the coach-captain saga.

Dravid agreed that coaching is a risky proposition and you could be sacked any time depending upon the results and said that some football managers get sacked very early on in their career and in cricket players have the power and they are more powerful when it comes to decision-making.

Rahul Dravid also said that sometimes he cringes watching Virat Kohli make pre-match statements. Dravid who played the game like a true gentleman says that aggression of Kohli is not misplaced and if it brings the best out of him than there is no need to change his persona.

“I think the game is still about performance. So let’s not take that way from someone like Kohli. That’s his personality. People have asked me, ‘Why didn’t you behave like that?’ But that’s not what got the best out of me. I would have been inauthentic to myself if I had tried to put tattoos and behave like Virat,” a report in ESPNcricinfo quoted Dravid as saying.

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“Sometimes, especially before an Australia series, you’ll find Virat saying the most outrageous things. And I read the paper and cringe at times. But then I think back, maybe he actually wants that contest. He wants that lip on the field because that gets the best out of him. Now that might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But at the end of the day, he’s got to do what gets the best out of him. Ajinkya Rahane is very different and he gets the best out of himself by doing different things. I think being authentic to yourself is very, very important,” added the cricket legend.

Kohli, who has become the run machine in recent times has not changed his game and aggression and currently considered as the modern day great and Dravid agrees that Kohli should not alter his game. Dravid had a word of caution for the youngsters and said that young cricketers should not blatantly copy Kohli and should remain true to themselves and not mimic Kohli’s aggression just for the sake of it.