Some five decades ago, after India had been swamped 0-3 in a Test series in England, skipper Ajit Wadekar, then 34, quickly announced his retirement. India had to find a captain with experience and the ability to motivate a team down in the dumps.
They settled on Wadekar’s predecessor, the charismatic Nawab of Pataudi Jr. who had not played in over four years. When the selectors initially offered him the job for the first two Tests in the home series against the West Indies, Pataudi told them it had to be all five or nothing.
West Indian cricketer Clive Lloyd and India’s Nawab of Pataudi during the India and West Indies Test series in 1974.
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THE HINDU ARCHIVES
The selectors relented, and Pataudi led in one of the most exciting series, India levelling the scores after losing the first two Tests before losing the decider in Mumbai. Having put Indian cricket on an even keel, Pataudi handed over charge to Bishan Bedi who led in the tours that followed, to New Zealand and the West Indies.
When a team has lost a series or two badly, is it better to go in for a younger captain and team with the long-term view, or to plump for experience and an ad hoc approach, with just one series in mind? That’s a question the selectors will have to answer soon.
India play a five-Test series in England from June, having lost a home series to New Zealand 0-3 and lost 1-3 in Australia, both under Rohit Sharma. India won two ICC white ball tournaments under Rohit, but the captain averages 10.93 in his last eight Tests, with just one 50, and his place in the eleven must be in doubt.
Rohit Sharma turns 38 this month. He has been one of the most unselfish of Indian captains, a white ball great who never asks a player to do what he would not do himself. The two younger players who might lead are Jasprit Bumrah, 31, and Shubhman Gill, 25; Bumrah has led in a Test in England too. There are others in the mix: K L Rahul, who has led in three Tests, and Rishabh Pant, who has been vice captain.
Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill in action during the second day of the third Test between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai
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EMMANUAL YOGINI
Indian cricket, like Indian politics, often invokes TINA, “there is no alternative”. There is always an alternative, of course. In many ways, the England tour is a starting point. It is the first in the new cycle of the World Test Championship. It catches an Indian team in transition, with Rohit and Virat Kohli, 36, close to the end of their careers, and three, Rishabh Pant, Gill and Yashaswi Jaiswal set to carry the batting on their shoulders in the next generation. The odd man in the middle is K L Rahul. This is a good spread, although one or two more mid-career batters might allow the captain to breathe easier.
This is particularly important for a series in England. Experience and form have to come together, and when they do, you have the ideal candidate. Karun Nair’s recent heroics in the IPL follows his monstrous run of scores in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and more relevantly, his 863 runs in the Ranji season, the most by a Test player.
Karun Nair plays a shot on the fourth day of the fifth and final Test between India and England at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on December 19, 2016.
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V. GANESAN
Nair is 33, which is not the end of the world, even if his Test match triple century might have come eight years ago. He has played first class cricket in England for Northamptonshire for whom he has scored a double century and averaged over 50 each season. The manner in which he handled Bumrah in the IPL suggests he is ready for a comeback with his combination of skill, style and fettle.
Making Bumrah captain – and he is a fine strategist who understands his players well – over a long tour might be a bit of a risk although he is the best qualified after Rohit. He is India’s trump card and will need to be handled delicately, perhaps even rested for a match, if he is to be fully effective.
Once the choice is made between ad hocism and preparing for the future, the selection falls into place. Virat Kohli, who has been there and done that might play the role Pataudi did, steadying the ship before handing it over to a younger man. The future can wait a little in that case.
Published – April 16, 2025 12:09 am IST
