‘Handing captaincy to Kumble is retrogressive’

Criticising Kumble's appointment as Test captain, Jadeja and Siddhu said selectors should have handed the reins to Dhoni.

Criticising Anil Kumble’s appointment as captain of the Indian Test cricket team, former players Ajay Jadeja and Navjot Singh Siddhu said the move was “retrogressive” and the selectors should have handed the reins to ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The 37-year-old leg-spinner was handed the reins of the Test team late on Thursday night, after a lengthy deliberations during the second one-dayer between India and Pakistan in Mohali.

Jadeja felt the selectors should have given the Test captaincy to Dhoni, as India had combined well under his leadership.

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“I mean how often do you have a successful captain and a successful team? We have one for the past two-three months. There has been no negativity coming out from the team and everyone seems to look at Dhoni as a leader,” Jadeja was quoted as saying.

“A senior player like Sachin Tendulkar accepts him as a leader and I don’t think we should have changed anything at this moment. I mean when you have a leader like Dhoni, it is not appropriate to turn to somebody like Anil,” he added.

Siddhu was even more scathing in his criticism and accused the selectors of ignoring the national team’s interest by making the surprise appointment.

“Are they not playing with the interest of the country? When you appoint Kumble as captain of the team, it is nothing but a retrograde step. He is a stop-gap arrangement,” he opined.