No rift between Anil Kumble and Virat Kohli, says BCCI

Birmingham, June 2: BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary on Thursday (June 1) claimed that he is unaware of any rift between chief coach Anil Kumble and captain Virat Kohli, dismissing it as "purely speculative".

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"I am not aware of any. It's purely in realm (sic figment) of imagination. These are purely speculative," Chaudhary told reporters on the sidelines of India's practice session yesterday (June 1).

When quizzed further that there can't be smoke without fire, the former Jharkhand top cop replied: "I see no smoke at all."

A probing scribe even asked why he was there when he was not scheduled to arrive, pat came the reply: "Amazing, you know my schedule more than me."

Chaudhary reiterated that BCCI had only followed procedure by inviting applications as Kumble's tenure comes to an end on June 18.

"Well this question has been answered in the past. It's been going on for the past few days. It's my pleasure to answer again. The BCCI is following a process. If you don't follow a process, it's not supposed to be good but if you follow a process, it's supposed to be good," he said.

The timing of BCCI's invite for coaches' CV came up for discussion, Chaudhary retorted: "You show me, where's the space in the calender. We are playing one series after another and there's no space when we could have done it. The deadline is over and we will soon announce the names of the shortlisted candidates."

The joint secretary said that the mood in the team is upbeat.

"I frequently speak to the boys," he said to a query on whether he has had discussions with the team on all what has been reported.

He did not make any comments on Kumble's future.

"The process is well-defined. Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) is seized of the matter and will deal with it," Chaudhary said.

PTI