Madan Lal bashes "superstar" culture in Indian cricket following Anil Kumble's resignation

“These boys want ‘yes men’ around them. The likes of Bangar suit the bill for them as they are happy getting their egos boosted. Anybody who stands in their way and shows them the mirror or questions them back must go. This has always been the trend and happened even when I was coach (1996-97). I had a 45 per cent win record, but even then, I had to leave. The reason was that I was passionate about just winning and wasn’t an expert when it came to man-management. Coaching the Indian team is as much about managing the egos as it is about getting results.

“The sole reason why the foreign coaches succeeded was because they were happy to stay in the background and not question the authority of the senior players. Be it John Wright, Gary Kirsten or Duncan Fletcher. They were all successful and had long stints because they didn’t want to pose questions or challenge the big boys. The moment one of them did question, we saw what happened to him (hints at Greg Chappell). There is immense pressure when you are coaching such strong personalities and it is never easy,” he said.

However, Lal was not surprised at the recent development and bashed the Indian superstar culture, as well as the Indian skipper Virat Kohli for the same.

“Difference in opinion is nothing new. But then, the team should be priority. Look at the results that the Indian team achieved under Kumble and even then if he has to go, that is shameful to say the least. The BCCI did try its best and that was evident through the efforts of the Cricket Advisory Committee — comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman — but in the end, it was Kohli’s ego that won the battle. But it will be interesting to see how Kohli gells with the next coach as there is no guarantee that he will toe Kohli’s line,” he signed off.