Kumble's googly clean bowls Vengsarkar

By John Cheeran
Anil Kumble, India’s Test captain, has invited the ire of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for letting the ‘classified information’ regarding a selection committee meeting.
The man upset by Kumble interview is Dilip Vengsarkar. For Kumble vetoed Vengsarkar’s idea of burdening Rahul Dravid with the role of second wicketkeeper during the forthcoming tour to Sri Lanka.
It is pretty much evident that Vengsarkar has an axe to grind with Dravid. Chairman of national selectors finds Dravid not good enough for one-dayers, but at the same time, he thinks Dravid should be burdened with wicket keeping duties, a legacy of the self serving interests of former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.
But Kumble is no Ganguly. Kumble and Dravid, of course, are friends. They are from Bangalore. But that’s not the point. Kumble knows how to stand up for someone who has served Indian cricket with dignity and unmatched integrity.
I’m quite happy that not only did Kumble outsmart Vengsarkar in the selection committee meeting, but the Indian captain let the world know what sorts of manipulative forces are in action in Indian cricket by giving an interview to a Mumbai-based tabloid.
Anil’s Googly had Colonel clean bowled.
Here are Kumble’s comments to Mumbai Mirror that exposed Vengsarkar.
“I insisted on the second wicketkeeper because there was a view among some of the selectors that we could do with one specialist.

As captain I am aware that there could be problems if the specialist were to pull a muscle or have a runny stomach on the morning of a Test. There was a suggestion that Rahul (Dravid) be the second wicketkeeper, but I persuaded the committee to view things from Indian cricket’s point of view and advantage.

I contended there was nothing wrong in taking the additional specialist wicketkeeper. I know Rahul would not like to be saddled with such a responsibility.

He has enough as a batsman and does not want a repeat of his wicketkeeping experiences in ODIs. On Dhoni’s withdrawal I have nothing to say as it is a personal decision. He knows his mind and body.”