MUMBAI, 16 November 2007 — This is the hitherto untold story of the latest appointment of the Indian Test captain.

Around midnight on Nov. 8, the media received the information that surprised many. The BCCI announcement said that veteran spinner Anil Kumble had been selected as captain for the forthcoming three-Test series against Pakistan.

The choice of the Test captain was contradictory to the general expectation, as there was widely speculated that Mahendra Singh Dhoni would have the extra responsibility of Test captaincy thrust on him.

Dhoni was in fact appointed for the job when the selectors met before the start of the day-night one-dayer between India and Pakistan at Mohali.

Since the meeting did not last very long, it was presumed that the choice of Dhoni was unanimous. What did happen then ? When the BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, reached Mohali, just before the start of the match, he was informed about the selection committee’s decision. Taken somewhat aback, he wanted to know why the meeting was held before the match and not afterwards, as it was scheduled ?

After the BCCI top brass got into a huddle, it was decided to keep the decision on hold. As it had been earlier decided, the selection committee was asked to meet again after the match.

Even as the Pakistani batsmen boldly inched their way towards the stiff target of 322 runs, a lot of verbal activity was taking place in the two special boxes in the pavilion, one holding the BCCI officials, and the other, the selectors. After much deliberation, the selectors were told to reconsider their choice of Dhoni.

The BCCI officials, who always claim that they do not interfere in the working of the selection committee, finally had their say. Since there was no other senior player to look for, the choice fell on Kumble.

Whether Kumble is a right choice or not is a moot point. The question to ask is: Why was Dhoni’s name spiked ? Even Sachin Tendulkar, who had turned down the captaincy, had suggested that a younger man like Dhoni ought to be given that responsibility, keeping in view the future of Indian cricket.

No one is against Kumble. He is vastly experienced. But what is his future? How long will he continue to play at the top level?

Since his appointment is only for a tenure of three Tests at home, it is obvious that there will be another appointment for the coming Australian tour. Are they being fair to Kumble to make him a stop-gap captain? One only hopes that the Indian captaincy has not been given to Anil Kumble as a kind of a terminal benefit, for long years of service to Indian cricket.

It is possible that after the Pakistan series, it will be back to the future.