Anil Kumble is easily one of India’s most valuable players yet least spoken about cricketers. His opportunity to lead India has finally come about after a long haul of 17 years. Head and shoulders above the rest in terms of experience and age, it is unfortunate that he had to wait this long to be give the job of captaining Team India. It is too early to predict how he will perform on the field as captain, but if you were to observe his initial statements he comes across as one of the most confident and self-assured players to take on the job in recent times.
Never in the recent past has a captain been so forthright and candid about team composition. His comment about Yuvraj is commendable not so much for the merit of the decision but the mindset that drove the comment. The only other country where this happens is in Australia, where seasoned, experienced players are given the support needed while youngsters have to wait and pay their dues before they can make it to the team on a permanent basis. With this one statement Kumble should have earned further support and confidence of the seniors while sending youngsters a clear message that each slot in the team has to be earned, and that some time this might require an extra wait period. He also went on to add that in the near future the Indian batting will revolve around Yuvraj. This should give Yuvraj some consolation and continued hunger for the Test spot.
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