Kumble, the best man to lead Test side - Peter Roebuck

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At heart he is a lion. And he can still roar, writesPeter Roebuck More... Kumble, the best man to lead Test side At heart he is a lion. And he can still roar, writesPeter Roebuck — Photo: AP

RIGHT CANDIDATE: Anil Kumble has qualities needed to coax fine performances from veterans and to instil confidence in youth. Anil Kumble is the best man to lead the Indian Test team on its forthcoming expedition to Australia. He could forge a strong alliance with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the obvious man for the T20 and ODI teams down under. Between them these sturdy cricketers have the qualities needed to coax fine performances from veterans and to instil confidence in youth. Probably it won’t happen because selectors and officials are otherwise inclined but it’d be worth a g o. More likely a more fashionable player will be given a second or third tilt at the pot. Almost alone amongst the senior men, Kumble has not been given a chance to take charge of the Indian team. Over the last few years he has been the most constant, most probing of the Indian players yet he is seldom mentioned as a contender for the captaincy. Unstinting effort Instead he has served with unstinting effort. Always he has put the team first. His loyalty is to India and his comrades, and his own interests are pushed to the back of his mind, an uncommon occurrence amongst cricketers. From time to time he may have been beaten but he has never been broken. Kumble has set a towering example. Neither the glamour and clamour of the age has distracted him from his task. Captains scanning the field in search of someone still wanting to bowl with the sun scorching, the batsmen dominating and the scoreboard rattling, need not look past him. Others might appear discouraged but Kumble would stride to the crease, his hope intact, his intentions plain. Nor does he berate a fieldsmen after a catch had been dropped, or not for long anyhow (for he is only human). He can glare but he forgives readily and then tries to make amends. His appetite for wickets has never been sated. Are not these exceptional qualities? Here is an underestimated man. As a cricketer, Kumble has surpassed expectations. It might be the same as a tactician and leader. On the rare occasions this unsmiling tweaker has directed operations he has shown the sort of flexibility and aggression supposedly absent in contemplative types. But then Kumble merely resembles a librarian. At heart he is a lion. And he can still roar, continues to take wickets and has even scored his first Test century, an innings that reminded observers that he had started as a batsman. Certainly he has a couple more years left in him in Test cricket. Moreover he does not expect to play in the one-day matches and is therefore perfectly placed to form a partnership with Dhoni, a young cricketer with plenty on his plate. Superb captaincy Dhoni was superb in South Africa and is clearly capable of inspiring younger players. That does not mean he ought forthwith to be put in charge of a successful Test side full of older hands. Nor does success in T20 necessarily mean that the same players will prosper in the Test arena. Indeed Yuvraj, the most explosive batsmen in the tournament, has been exposed in Tests as a batsman with a dubious back foot game. Dhoni can take charge of the Test team in two years, when his proteges, including the splendidly fertile Gautam Gambhir, Uthappa, Chawla and those contrasting pacemen, R.P. Singh and Sreesanth (the ice and the fire), are ready to replace the fading champions. Till then it’d be wise to let him work on his own game whilst widening his experience of captaincy in one-day matches. Let us not kill the golden goose after a single egg has been laid.

[King]

Kumble should have been considered for test captaincy even before the likes of Rahul Dravid or Ganguly. Anil is the second most senior after Tendulkar and is someone that doesn't take crap from anyone. He is quite a gentleman but not too accomadating as Rahul Dravid. Anil is a true professional. Does his job quiet and calm. He's always in the face of the opponents even though he doesn't sledge. My candidate for captaincy at this point in time is Anil Kumble.

[Cricketics]

i reallly wanted him to be captain rite when gang was dropped.... Don't know if its fine now.. don't know how long he would stay for in the team.. i hope he plays another 2 years atleast

[bharat297]

The main issue with Kumble as Test captain is what will happen if it affects his form. At present he is the man we turn to to break long partnerships and clean up the tail quickly. As we approach an Australian tour (aussies are notorious for targeting opposition captains to the death, both mentally and physically) can we really afford to jeopordise kumble's form? Is it worth it? Perhaps Laxman might be a safer option as even if Laxman fails, there are other batsman that can do the job. Hopefulyl captaincy wont affect either of these player's forms as they are both very special players, but not many would have predicted "the wall" to break down as a result of captaincy either so we must be careful.

[kumble_rocks]

Thanks to Dalmiya , Kumble could never lead !

[novpj]

We should drop Laxman and Kumble and go to the Yuvi, Piyush route - no need to keep these oldies around

[yoda]

We should drop Laxman and Kumble and go to the Yuvi' date=' Piyush route - no need to keep these oldies around[/quote'] :hysterical:

[fineleg]

For Test matches, either AK or VVS should be captain. Either one I am ok with. Please dont appoint MSD as Test captain just yet

[bharat297]

I honestly dont know why we are talking about dropping players in the Test side as a result of the 20-20 victory. What is wrong with out current test side? Which player is out of form in our test side? Ok fine, Dravid, but we would be foolish to drop Dravid now. There is NO reason to change a WINNING test side. If they start losing, then it becomes valid to talk about changes in our test side. Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman all batted well during the tests so at the moment yuvraj is not needed. And you cant be serious about dropping kumble for piyush. I mean seriously, you are gonna replace the 3rd greatest wicket taker of all time with someone who hasnt even played ODI cricket for 6 months and has not even cemented his spot in the ODI side. He is a good player but please can we stop the indian habit of getting excited about every single 10 year old sensation before they have done anything.

[Yuvraj4Captaincy]

We should drop Laxman and Kumble and go to the Yuvi' date=' Piyush route - no need to keep these oldies around[/quote'] We cant drop Laxman. Yuvraj should come in for Gangs and only reason I am against having kumble as captain is cuz then he will be the automatic selection for a spinner. Even though he is a legend , at times and in certain conditions, bhajji and chawla will do a better job. Lax shoudl captain the test side or even tendy

[bharat297]

You are kidding right? Can you tell me one time where harbajhan outside subcontinent has done well in a Test match (I myself am not sure but I am guessing you would have to go back a long way) And as for Piyush Chawla, come on! The guy has potential yes, but has he even cemented his spot in the ODI team? He didnt even get a game in the Twenty20 (which was probably unfair). Now all of a sudden people are against having kumble in the side too. How spoilt have Indian fans become that they dont realise that this guy has carried our bowling attack for the past 8 or so years while people like Bhaji, Zaheer, Pathan, Sreesanth, Agarkar, RP, Balaji, Nehra have been in and out of the side. Furthermore, the guy has an excellent record against the Aussies ... with 51 wickets from his last 7 tests against them.

[sm332]

I have been saying this for a long time ... Kumble for Cappo

[beetle]

Kumble for captain....even if it is just for a year and half. Gives dhoni the breathing space ...and the selectors time to make an opinion on dhoni's captaincy(long term)

[siddhu]

I think it will be foolish to give Kumble the test captaincy... he has been an excellent performer for us over the past 16 years.... and looking at his fitness, i don't think he will be able to carry on for more than an year (although i wish he continues for at least a couple). since Laxman is also on the last leg of his career. Sachin, Dravid don't want to lead (otherwise they would not have relinquished their captaincy) Ganguly should not be given captaincy, because that will make him an automatic selection. it wouldn't hurt if we give MSD the test reins also(or Yuvi but first he needs to be given a decent run in the test side) . It will give him a chance to grow into the role with former captains around him to guide him, and when they retire (maybe in 2 max 3years time) he will be able to develop his own team.

[Dravid]

dada 4 test captain:cool:

[Mandrake]

My choice: Day1: Dhoni Day2: Yuvraj Day3:RP Day4:Rohit Sharma Day5:Jogi This way we groom all youngsters for captaincy:D

[novpj]

Rather Day1: SRT Day 2: Ganguly Day 3: Kumble Day 4: Laxman and Day 5: Zak that way all the seniors feel like they had a say and ego issues will go away.

[beetle]

What egos have the seniors shown nov? Give them credit for opting out of 20/20.Has anyone till now had any problems with the new team?...jab ego problems hongi tab jo kahna hai kehna....

[siddhu]

yeah... i don't understand.. why do people just assume that there will be ego problems...its not like we hear about dressing room fracas almost every day like some place...:giggle:

[Tondulkar]

We should drop Laxman and Kumble and go to the Yuvi' date=' Piyush route - no need to keep these oldies around[/quote'] Joke of the year!!!