Jadeja in line to take over captaincy (14 June 1999)

14 June 1999

Jadeja in line to take over captaincy

Mihir Bose

The Indian selectors are likely to appoint Ajay Jadeja as the next captain of India. He is being seen initially as a stop-gap appointment to see India through the many one-day matches they face over the next few months, with opponents including Kenya, and Sri Lanka before they take on Pakistan in Toronto.

If the experiment is a success, Jadeja will take over on a more permanent basis. If not, Sachin Tendular, who was relieved to give up the captaincy a year ago, waits in the wings.

There are doubts about Jadeja's true Test class, but he is a descendant of the great Ranji and Duleep and has the sort of princely blood once considered essential to captain India. Also, when he led his country in the Sharjah tournament he impressed, and was able to get more from his underachieving team than the ineffectual Mohammad Azharuddin.

And while Azharuddin said on Saturday night, after the defeat against New Zealand, that he has no plans to resign, I understand that in the last few days he has discussed with close friends the option of standing down. On his present form, he would struggle to get into the team if he was not captain. The Indian team is due to return home on Tuesday but some of the players, including Azharuddin, may delay their departure.

With Trent Bridge virtually a home match for the Indians - not only did they fill the stands but also most of the executive boxes - for much of the day there was a continuous seminar on what the Indians should do next to avoid the disappointment of this World Cup.

Prominent in these discussions was the president of the Indian board, Raj Singh, and the former captain, Sunil Gavaskar, who has called for a public inquiry into the circumstances in which India lost to Zimbabwe - a disastrous defeat that effectively prevented them reaching the semi-finals.

A predecessor of Raj Singh has already called for wholesale changes - including the departure of Raj Singh, Azharuddin and the coach, Anshuman Gaekwad. How far the blood-letting will go is difficult to say, but one likely change is that Bobby Simpson, advisor to the senior team, will become consultant to the A team.

The BBC, far from being fazed by criticism for abandoning the cricket on Saturday evening for Trooping the Colour before returning for the final overs, are patting themselves on the back.

A BBC spokesman said: "It was a remarkable performance and we showed ourselves to be very fleet-footed to shorten the Trooping the Colour and fit in the climax of the cricket."

Source :: The Electronic Telegraph