Jumbo Power

For once in the blue moon the selection committee of Indian cricket team has managed to save their faces by appointing veteran Anil Kumble as India’s Test captain. After lots of speculation doing the rounds following Sachin Tendulkar’s refusal to lead the Indian test team, the responsibility of a smooth transition of Indian cricket from older generation to the younger lot falls on the man who has a never say die attitude. The selectors made the right move honoring India’s highest wicket taker ahead of present ODI and T20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was tipped to be the front runner.

“Better late than never” said Kumble and exactly so, every Indian fan will welcome the decision with big smiles as we all know that he has won more matches for India than anyone else. Kumble highest wicket taker for India in both versions of the game was always under the shades of the big three of Indian cricket when it comes to leadership role. Kumble has cool headed shoulders, his feet firmly on the ground and he is a shrewd thinker of the game.

His determination and will power is unmatched. With broken jaws and plastered all over his face he came out to bowl 14 overs picking the priced wicket of Brian Lara for just four runs in the fourth test match played at St. John’s, Antigua in 2002. That was a heartening sight, a sight of a soldier taking the bullet blow still continuing to fight in the battle field. I still remember, the whole of India was speechless and sleepless as everyone was awaken that night to see Kumble battling it out in what was a drawn encounter.

Though the cricket fraternity seems to be happy with his appointment as captain, I must confess that the appointment for just a series is not a healthy signal. What does that mean? Are the selectors putting Anil Kumble on trial as captain or is that they think only one series is enough to groom Dhoni? It makes no sense to put someone of Kumble’s experience as captain for just one series. Instead, the selectors should have given the nod for the whole season, till home series against South Africa.

Kumble has an impressive record with ball in hand against the Pakistan and Australia. His strike rate against these two nations is slightly better at 58 compared to his overall strike rate of 65. He also commands respect from his fellow players and the youngsters in the team. He appears to be a silent guy but he is a great motivator and can have a calming influence over his team members.

Now while Kumble is happy about captaincy, Dhoni need not fuss over it. The leg spinner has retired from the One-dayers means he is no competitor for Dhoni to lead the One-day side. This will allow Dhoni to concentrate more on his test career as a player and lead the team in the shorter formats with a vision in mind. Kumble - Dhoni combo will be an interesting one as both of them are never short of positive energy and positive thinking.

Kumble and challenges go hand in hand; this time the challenge is to achieve equilibrium between past glory and the future hopes. Captaincy for Kumble also means, he will try and enhance his test career without doubt.

Now that Kumble has been trusted with responsibility, it is time to support him. It is clear that Dhoni will takeover from Rahul Dravid in the long run and Kumble, an ideal nominee, approaching the end of his career has one last but the tricky job on hands to engineer the transition.