Let Kumble continue as captain

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is clearly a long-term India captain. He brings to his job a flair and an obvious enjoyment of its possibilities that is thrilling. To lead a team with seven players senior to you, four of them ex-captains, requires a combination of self-belief and indifference to the pettiness that hierarchies can throw up. Dhoni’s decision to be himself, both as a person and as an attacking player made this outing one of the most relaxing he has had.

Which brings us to the question: should he be asked to continue after his brilliant showing in Mohali, or should the job revert to Anil Kumble, the original choice as skipper? And the answer has to be: Let Kumble continue as captain; Dhoni was a stop-gap arrangement.

While young cricketers need to be given a chance to succeed, veterans must be given a chance to fail, and Kumble has not failed. He is a tough customer, as Ricky Ponting will agree, and in cricket as in most things it is usually wise to follow the dictum: don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.

The two men who handled Kumble’s duties in the second Test - bowler Amit Mishra and captain Dhoni - did very well. Who should be dropped from a winning team to accommodate a captain and player who has rendered yeoman service to the country, and is the first choice leader?

It’s a tough call, and will have to be handled with delicacy and tact. On the one hand, you cannot insult a player who has been one of the most distinguished in the annals of the game, and not give him a chance to return after recovering from injury. On the other, you cannot discourage a younger bowler who has begun his career so well. In all probability, Mishra might be sacrificed, but there is something to be said for playing five bowlers, especially since the batting has clicked so well.

A radical solution might be to drop Sourav Ganguly - after all, he is calling it a day and cannot be part of any long term planning. However, there will be a school of thought which believes that playing the extra batsman means India can sit on their lead for the remainder of the series. This is a defensive approach, and unworthy of a side that has just put the world champions in their place.

The recent Sri Lanka series will remain a blot on Kumble’s record but he could not have budgeted for the combined failures of the greatest middle order in the world. Dhoni calculated correctly, and kept himself out of that series. His time will surely come. But it is not yet.

With home series against England to follow, Kumble should be spared the crick in the neck from having to constantly look over his shoulder. This is an occupational hazard of Indian captains. In the recent past, the selectors have sometimes shown good sense by appointing a captain for the long term as they did with Rahul Dravid. Kumble too deserves such consideration. But I suspect that the remaining Tests against Australia will be seen as a trial period.