FazKumble running out of spice
August 14th 2008 00:19
What to do? Kumble is feeling the pressure
"I do not want to give excuses," exclaimed Anil Kumble after his team's series loss to Sri Lanka.
But 'excuses' he later gave as several questions demanded answers on the back of third-ranked India's defeat to their then fifth-ranked rivals.
"The batsmen did not do well and that cost us the series. The middle order not getting the runs proved critical. Our batting was never consistent," he lamented.
"It was not easy to pick runs when Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan were bowling together. The pressure they created made it tough," he mourned.
"The middle and lower order let us down," he grieved in conclusion, not once mentioning his own failure to lead from the front in his responsibility as skipper or role with the ball.
Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly's drop in form and Mendis' stranglehold over the rest of their batting order will only serve as reasonable rationale for India's latest failing for so long, before the heart of their recent shortfalls seeps to the fore: Kumble's inability at the helm.
Since taking over the Test leadership from Rahul Dravid in November 2007, the softly spoken Kumble has done nothing to instil confidence and promise of a fruitful tenure.
Coupled with their latest two losses at the tip of the subcontinent, India are now burdened with three other defeats and four draws under Kumble's 12-match residency. That's a mere 25% winning record.
Eight months is plenty of time to establish a positive crusade with a vastly experienced team, yet Kumble's appointment seems to have done more damage than it has good - to his personal exploits and that of his side.
Along with his lack of aggressive captaincy, unimaginative tactics, evidential over reliance on support staff Robin Singh and Venkatesh Prasad, over dependence on input from Dravid and the host of other former skippers currently in the starting XI, comes the 37-year-old spinner's slip up in his primary role.
As the tear-stained departure of England's most successful Test captain Michael Vaughan proves, skippers need to shine in their role as a batsman/bowler first and foremost. Kumble is not doing so in any of the departments.
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