India faced a comprehensive 227-run defeat against England in the first of the four-match Test series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The loss has tremendously hurt India’s chances of making it to the final of the ICC World Test Championship as they have now plunged to the fourth spot in the standings. On the other hand, England have benefitted immensely from the famous win as they are now sitting at the top of the table.
India now need to win the rest of the games or win two and draw one in order for them to progress into the WTC final. On the contrary, if England beat India in any of the next three Tests, India’s chances of qualifying for the WTC final will be over. After the heavy defeat, Indian captain Virat Kohli took a shot at the International Cricket Council (ICC) for suddenly changing the rules of the championship, during the post-match press conference.
For the unversed, during the COVID-19 enforced lockdown last year, the ICC Cricket Committee led by former India captain Anil Kumble, had decided that that ICC World Test Championship standings would be determined by the percentage of points (PCT) earned by teams. Speaking about the new rules to determine ICC World Test Championship standings, an annoyed Kohli said that nothing is in the team’s control if rules suddenly change during the lockdown.
Kohli further said that the only thing that they are in control is what they do on the field, which is why nothing changes for the Indian team. Expressing his frustration further over the sudden rule change, Kohli reckoned that they are not bothered about the points table or other external factors and added that there are some things for which there is no logic. According to the Indian skipper, one can debate for hours but the only thing one can control as a team is playing good cricket, which is the team’s only focus regardless of who’s on top of the table.
Kohli reiterated that prior to the Chennai Test, nobody was even thinking of England’s chances and now suddenly everyone is talking about how they are on top of the table. The 33-year old opined that one doesn’t play for these things these as they keep on changing all the time. Kohli revealed that the team’s focus is to go through the hard grind and being prepared for doing that on a consistent basis.
During his tenure as the head coach of the Indian men’s senior cricket team from 2016-2017, it was speculated that Anil Kumble and captain Virat Kohli did not see eye-to-eye on many instances. Kumble had claimed that Virat Kohli was not too pleased with his coaching style. If Kohli vs Kumble rumours are to be believed, then the two cricketers were involved in a difference of opinion prior to the Champions Trophy final against arch-rivals Pakistan regarding what had to be done after winning the toss.
Pakistan had outplayed India in that contest to win their maiden ICC Champions Trophy title. Notably, Kumble’s tenure as India’s head coach hardly lasted only a year as he stepped down from the position after the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. Although the duo had ended their differences after Kohli invited Kumble for his wedding a few years ago, it seems that the Indian captain’s annoyance with the bowling legend has not ended entirely.
