OK, this might have been discussed before but I cannot understand why Kumble has been made the captain of the Indian team. Surely this is a short term appointment. Wouldn’t it had been better if they had appointed a younger guy who could have led India for the next few years? Kumble hasn’t got much time left as a player. Strange selection
What do Indian supporters say.
Re: Why Kumble?
lagta hay Ehsan bhai doesn’t like an emotional player to be Indian Captain 
Re: Why Kumble?
BCCI Administration kee marzi. may be the guy has some kind of SEENG on his head :)
who cares...!
Re: Why Kumble?
Tendu and Dravid refusing.
Gangu not liked by players.
They did not have much choice.
Re: Why Kumble?
Dhoni is the obvious long-term choice as test captain but the selectors probably did n't want to overburden him with too much responsibility at once. Kumble maybe 37 but he is very fit and the way he is performing at the moment, he could easily play test cricket till he is 39 or 40. Dhoni is already the one-day captain so it won't affect India as regards captaincy in the next world cup in 2011.
Re: Why Kumble?
Who cares about Kumble?? What do you think about Salman Butt' sperformance ehsan?? I hope you will now admit that he is our best opener (even with all the probs with his technique) and he is one for the future, just need to find his partner.
Re: Why Kumble?
Who cares about Kumble?? What do you think about Salman Butt' sperformance ehsan?? I hope you will now admit that he is our best opener (even with all the probs with his technique) and he is one for the future, just need to find his partner.
I wouldn't agree on this. We had a great player: Imran Nazir who made his debut on international level 7 years back (I believe). He had great shot selections: On Drive, Off Drive, Straight Drive, Cut shots, Hook Shots.
He was a real talent, he amazed the gora players and commentators. Every one new this guy is going to have a great future, but all of a sudden he was dropped by PCB Selectors for further Tours and Matches.
He got a chance, but a very little one. Players need months to get into the game. In Cricket players are changed from one Tour to another. I have never understood that.
PCB has failed to polish young talents like Imran Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Hameed, Salman Butt, Hasan Raza, Mohammad Hafeez...etc. They have put very little effort to encourage them and support them to improve their playing skills and abilities. Actually, they have put no effort at all into these players. That's why we see no stable opening pair in our Team.
Now Imran Nazir is a bogeyman who desires only for back foot shots like cut shots rather utilizing his talent by playing more off, on, straight drives.
Afridi is where he always been, nothing much of an improvement at all (but still very valueable), Yasir is almost no more, never heard anything about Raza after his debut against Holland, Butt has had couple of chances til he got going (which surprised me the most), Hafeez is too slow to score.
All in all no improvement (player wise and PCB wise) can be registered after +7 years have passed.
Re: Why Kumble?
Anil Kumble is the most senior player with over 500+ test wickets .With seniors didn't want to capatin the side .He is the best choice .Moreover the guy deserved this postion .A relentless fighter ,he was/is.For all his sincere services to Indian cricket i would take this as a tribute for the man .
Re: Why Kumble?
i believe it is a short term appointment to groom dhoni and not burden with him all the responsibilities all of a sudden
Re: Why Kumble?
I think the Indian cricket board panicked.
Even if he had lost this series against Pakistan & the nest one in Aus, he would have learned alot.
Pakistan on the other hand had no such jitters, they threw shoaib into the deep end, he hosted SAF and now he is in India.
I still would like to know why Dravid quit after winning a series in England. Can not wait for that set of autobiographies(Ganguly, Tend. & Dravid)
Re: Why Kumble?
I think the Indian cricket board panicked.
Even if he had lost this series against Pakistan & the nest one in Aus, he would have learned alot.
Pakistan on the other hand had no such jitters, they threw shoaib into the deep end, he hosted SAF and now he is in India.
I still would like to know why Dravid quit after winning a series in England. Can not wait for that set of autobiographies(Ganguly, Tend. & Dravid)
I dont think they panicked at all. i think this is one of the few good decisions BCCI have made in recent times.
And whats the rush with dhoni, let him mature and enjoy his cricket instead of dumping all responsibilities on him. Also do you have any idea how much pressure he would be under if he lost both series? Its funny how you say on the other hand, Pakistan had no such jitters to throw shoaib in the deep end, like they had any choice...
I am with you on those autobiographies. Should be very interesting.
Re: Why Kumble?
The decision to appoint Kumble makes perfect sense. He's a true fighter, and a true gentleman, always gives his 100%, quitely and methodically. He has the experience, the will, the guile, and the skill to be the captain. His seniority alone deserved that he be invited to be the captain at least once in his career.
He still has a good 2 years left in him. Dhoni isn't going anywhere... can take over after Kumble leaves.
Re: Why Kumble?
Taking nothing away from Kumble of course. He is a great competitor. Maybe Dhoni is too young to navigate a complicated dressing room that definitely has stuff going on in there. Dravid suddenly quit, then Tendulkar bailed out. TOI suggested Ganguly was becoming the pseudo captain so was rested in the series against Aus.
Pakistan could have pulled any old semi-retired cricketer and made him a captain like they have done so many times in the past, but they finally have taken a leap of faith.
Kumble isn't in the ODI side so that must make the 2 captains arrangement easier for India.
Re: Why Kumble?
Kumble is one of the few players in the Indian team that nobody questions for his place in the test team. Therefore the risks of dropping the captain from the 11 is least in his case. That combined with the fact that Dhoni seems to have taken a firm place on the odi 11 has made it a good decison I think, to make Kumble the captain. One more side effect (though I am not sure if the selectors had this in mind) is that Indian batting seems to be quiet strong to the point of resilience, so perhaps rewarding the senior most and successful bowler may bring in some improvement to the bowling attack. All said the selectors lucked out. When Tendulkar refused and Dravid quit, with Ganguly's history, it would have been a tough choice amongst others Sehwag, Bhajju. Yuvraj is potential future captain though.
Re: Why Kumble?
yeah indians should have a captain like shoaib malik. young, handsome, full of nehari and biryani, and above all clueless like a blond and high spirited like a sharabi who doesn’t fear defeats and is willing to accept more defeats with open arms…:halo: 
Re: Why Kumble?
Why Kumble? Several reasons. First, we establish the fact that Kumble is, by nature, an attacking cricketer. The instincts that he possesses and delivers is simply an instinct of someone who is ready to go to war with you at any stage of the game. His professional life as a bowler has seen him widely known as keeping a low maintenance pitch map, wicket-to-wicket. How many captains have deployed a spin option as early as ninth over of an innings in a test match? Pakistan's second innings and one over before the lunch break, Kumble brought himself on in the ninth over of the match with a new ball. I don't care if he is 50 and on the verge of hanging his boots, but as long as he can produce attacking results in the field from his teammates and himself that directly correlates to his personality as a leader, I say let him be on the spotlight until he feels it is time to step down. The general morale in the fielding has vastly improved, the players are more on their feet and there is a positive energy in the huddle, and I feel that Kumble at the helm is a direct source of his team's support group.
Re: Why Kumble?
very well said…now replace kumble with malik and (almost) every1 will have hard time going past the first sentence while writing about him…
Re: Why Kumble?
Why Kumble? Several reasons. First, we establish the fact that Kumble is, by nature, an attacking cricketer. The instincts that he possesses and delivers is simply an instinct of someone who is ready to go to war with you at any stage of the game. His professional life as a bowler has seen him widely known as keeping a low maintenance pitch map, wicket-to-wicket. How many captains have deployed a spin option as early as ninth over of an innings in a test match? Pakistan's second innings and one over before the lunch break, Kumble brought himself on in the ninth over of the match with a new ball. I don't care if he is 50 and on the verge of hanging his boots, but as long as he can produce attacking results in the field from his teammates and himself that directly correlates to his personality as a leader, I say let him be on the spotlight until he feels it is time to step down. The general morale in the fielding has vastly improved, the players are more on their feet and there is a positive energy in the huddle, and I feel that Kumble at the helm is a direct source of his team's support group.
sounds like a wonderful choice :)
pity he was the 4th choice