Final decision on new coach to be taken by Sachin, Sourav, VVS

The Board of Control for Cricket in India's acting secretary Amitabh  Choudhary had pleaded ignorance when the rift between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble was an open secret and on Monday he defended his statement made during the ICC Champions Trophy in UK earlier this month.

Choudhary had then dismissed reports claiming serious

differences between Kohli and Kumble, eventually leading to an acrimonious exit of India's head coach.

"Smoke without fire statement concerning Kohli-Kumble differences was made in real time when I didn't see any smoke," said Choudhary after BCCI's Special General Meeting in Mumbai.

Choudhary also reiterated that the final call on the new coach will be taken by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman.

The BCCI has already made it clear that the coach will be appointed before the Sri Lanka tour next month.

The Indian team is currently without a coach in the West Indies with batting coach Sanjay Bangar and fielding coach R Sridhar continuing their duty in the Caribbean.