India's six-wicket victory over Pakistan in New Delhi was a particularly good result for Anil Kumble, who won the Man of the Match award in his first Test match as skipper. Fans will remember that he was not the first man to be offered the captaincy. The selectors initially went for Sachin Tendulkar, who turned them down and Kumble was the next obvious choice as the most senior player in the squad.

After the victory, the media have been playing up Kumble's great tactical acumen. Yes, it was a good move to ask Sourav Ganguly to turn his arm on the fourth day as change bowler. But we must not forget that it was a win against Pakistan, not the strongest team to tour India. What annoyed me most is an experienced campaigner like Krishnamachari Srikanth singing the praises of Kumble as a ''great'' captain. We cannot jump to such conclusions so early. This is the Indian media all over, hyping up players after one match.

Kumble is a gentleman and a very good team player but he has never shown great composure as a captain. Could he withstand the conflict  if say, an Aussie sledged Rahul Dravid? I doubt it. Ricky Ponting will be waiting to spot such weakness in the Indian captain.

'Kumble is a gentleman and a very good team player but he has never shown great composure as a captain'

India are a team moving in the right direction. So what is the use of having a 37-year-old veteran, who will probably retire in a year, as captain? Mahendra Singh Dhoni needs time to bed in as Test captain but how can we groom a captain without giving him a chance to think in the heat of the battle with Australia? Look at the advantages of having the same captain in ODIs and Tests. In Kumble, our selectors have given the captaincy to a player who has retired from the one day international game.

If Dhoni is unsuitable as Test captain, why not go for Ganguly? He is by far the best Indian captain (his statistics prove it). Which captain other than Ganguly would have had the guts to make Steve Waugh wait at the toss? He is not as old as Kumble and he is also part of the one-day team. So why don't the selectors drop their egos and pick him?