Opinion - Editorials   

Champion at the helm

Sterling sense has prevailed with the appointment of Anil Kumble as India’s Test captain. The decision deserves celebration, for it finally gives this much-admired cricketer his due. It would have been a travesty of sorts had the 37-year-old leg-spinner ended an illustrious career without leading his country in the game’s most venerable version. Few men in Indian cricket history have so marvellously combined an aptitude for the job with proven success. His capt aincy record in first class cricket — 14 wins and just two losses in 21 matches — confirms the reputation of a formidable competitor. His leadership at the domestic level is characterised by the relentless quest for excellence that has made him Indian cricket’s greatest match-winner. Kumble is, by instinct and conditioning, an aggressive captain, much like Mark Taylor was. Like the Australian, he has the imagination and the nerve to back a hunch — and the cricket intelligence and tactical capabilities to implement it. His approach is rooted in discipline but he doesn’t confine himself to the patterned thought processes that abound in sportsmen who have found success by one method. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in his reinventing himself as a spinner in Australia in 2003-04, adding subtlety and a new delivery — a googly — to his armoury, more than a decade after his debut. What is more, Kumble evokes fierce loyalty from his team-mates. He has earned this loyalty through personal example: his men know he will not ask of them something he will not undertake himself.

An important period in Indian cricket lies ahead of the new captain. The selectors have broken with tradition in splitting the captaincy because they recognise the need for a strong leader in transition. Sachin Tendulkar’s decision to turn down captaincy pre-empted a retrograde step. The pressures seemed to wear him down in his earlier stints, when he became inward-looking and overly defensive. What is clear now is that India has always had a greater need for Tendulkar the batsman than Tendulkar the captain. By any objective test, Kumble is the best man for the situation. Having retired from one-day cricket, he can devote all his energies to the demands of Test captaincy; further, there will be no conflict of interest with one-day skipper M.S. Dhoni. The wicket-keeper will, in turn, have the time to evolve as a Test cricketer, with the tour of Australia likely to sandpaper his rough edges. Kumble has declared that his priority would be to enable India take the next step as a Test team and create an environment for the youngsters to play fearless cricket. The understated Bangalorean is a rarity in Indian sport — a champion. If he can forge a team in his likeness, India’s fans will have yet another reason to be grateful to this highly respected cricketer.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Champion at the helm
A world without executions
Towards restoring warm ties with Russia
A pre-emptive strike & collateral damage
Towards a needs-based medical R&D system
Sarkozy as the French Berlusconi
Karnataka politics
Pakistan crisis
On 1857
Deepavali festivities

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu