The message has two sides

UMPIRE'S POST

Test Kumble, limit Dhoni for now: is that what the selectors want?

The selectors have sprung a surprise by appointing Anil Kumble the captain of India's Test team. Admittedly, Kumble has the right credentials "" he was vice-captain for a long time, is the second most-experienced in the team after Sachin and is one of the most respected players in world cricket although, at 37, one cannot say that age is on his side.

Still, his appointment is a surprise for several reasons. The selectors, for once, have not taken the obvious route of making Dhoni, already the limited-overs format skipper, the Test captain. Thus, for the first time India has different captains for Tests and ODIs.

Second, Kumble had openly expressed his desire for the job. That could have worked against him. In Indian cricket, the person who wants the job almost never gets it. Frequently, we see middle order batsmen being told to open the innings, batsmen keen on opening being pushed into the middle order, bowlers being pushed into the role of an all-rounder and specialist batsmen being told to keep wickets because they wore the big gloves at some point in junior cricket.

To be sure, Kumble, who has come to embody fighting spirit without sullying his tongue (remember Lara's wicket with a plastered chin?), will wade into his new role with an enthusiasm that will shame the T20 stars. Going by his celebration after reaching his first international century in the last Test he played, Kumble's appetite for the game is not merely aglow but also crackling.

Kumble will certainly not stay in the job for long. He may walk into the sunset "" shoulders square, head held high and gaze steady "" before the Big Three. And then Dhoni, if he is still captaining the limited-overs side, will take charge of the Test team as well.

The troubling thought is: what is the message for young Dhoni? History is replete with young men being appointed the captain, especially when a team has entered the rebuilding phase, and giving an honourable account of themselves. Graeme Smith of South Africa is the latest example. And rebuilding is the phase that beckons this Indian team.

In the run-up to the Test captain's announcement, numerous commentators had said that it would be unwise to give Dhoni the reins for the tour to Australia, always tough for any team. In not picking him, the selectors have put their stamp on the apprehension.

There was another opinion, the ignored one, that Dhoni has shown enough panache and joie de vivre to take even the most onerous of situations in his stride. One hopes that the selectors, in not taking an easy route, have not sowed seeds of self-doubt in Dhoni's mind.