CoA chairman Vinod Rai hails Anil Kumble's role as 'absolutely impeccable' while comparing to Virat Kohli

New Delhi: Days after a fractious relationship between captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble of Indian cricket team resulted in the resignation of the latter, the chairman Committee of Administrators (CoA), Vinod Rai has come up with an interesting character analysis of the two protagonists.

A report in the Hindu claimed that Rai has found Kumble “more mature” than Kohli even as the world continues to grapple with the idea that a legend, of the stature of Kumble, was given little to no room to exercise his freedom when it comes to dealing with the captain.

Rai opted to play down the widely reported 'tussle' between the captain and coach, but many had already termed the Kumble's resignation as one sad episode in the annals of Indian cricket.

“If any two persons are thrown together for 24x7, there'll be a difference of professional opinion, so what’s there! His contract was for one year and well, there were perceptional issues, professional issues,” Rai was quoted as saying after the CoA meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, a day ahead of its interaction with the BCCI affiliates’ representatives.

“He (Kumble) is a more mature person. He decided that look... okay... fair enough. It’s a captain who has to play on the field ultimately. I think Kumble’s role has been absolutely impeccable. He has done very well as a coach. We will go in for an equally good professional, whether it’s a captain or the manager, but there should be cohesion in the team,” he added.

The CoA is a Supreme Court-appointed Committee to help the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) function smoothly and implement the Lodha Committee recommendations. It was appointed on January 30.

Rai, the former Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, was appointed as chairman of the panel, and was joined by historian Ramachandra Guha, former India women's captain Diana Edulji, and managing director and CEO of IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation) Vikram Limaye.

But Guha had resigned from the panel on May 28, citing personal reasons.