Kumble-Laxman’s Long-Lived Partnerships: Did it Affect H ead Coach Selection Decision?

The appointment of Anil Kumble as Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team seems to have opened the flood gates to controversies; they seem to be flowing like runs from Virat Kohli’s bat.

Only a week after the selection of the head coach, another big controversy has hit Indian cricket. Though this controversy seems to be a very important issue which should have been looked upon before the interview, the issue seems to have come to the notice of experts and readers quite late.

This controversy has come up due to VVS Laxman, one of the core members of the Advsiory Committee of BCCI, who selected Anil Kumble as the Head Coach. Laxman, being the second largest shareholder in Kumble’s company Tenvic Sports Education Private Limited, may have been biased due to financial issues behind this decision of the selection of Head Coach, according to sources. The issue raises eyebrows on BCCI and BCCI ombudsman Justice AP Shah, who take care of such matters with the story coming  to light. There is no revelation as to how the selection committee of the Head Coach position was formed and if this issue was taken in to consideration.

Tenvic Sports Education Private Limited is a Bengaluru-based marketing and training company which started its operations in 2011. The company’s first meeting was held in September 2012, a few months after Laxman played his last international game against Australia at Adelaide. After research on this company, a source has revealed that Laxman held 16,666 equity shares in Kumble’s firm in 2012.
In a year’s time Laxman’s shares in the company doubled and he now holds 33,332 shares in the company. The documents showed that only a nominal fee was paid by the former cricketer for the increase in his shares. On June 23, when the coach appointment was done, he continued to hold 33,332 shares in Tenvic Sports.

In addition to the shareholding, Laxman, along with other shareholders – Prakash Padukone and Sharath Kamal, also received money from Kumble for the services rendered by them to the company. Though the money paid to them remains to be a mystery, the financial statements of the company has revealed payment of 7 crore by the company to various heads which raises serious questions.
This controversy has come as a big surprise to Indian Cricket and needs to be taken into serious consideration by BCCI and calls for a genuine statement from the board.