Kumble Not Playing; Dhoni to Captain!

As a last minute surprise, Kumble did not play in the eleven due to fitness issues. With everyone expecting the pitch to favor the spinners, skipper not leading from the front has definitely put a break in the Indian camp.

Trailing the series 0-1, Sachin not fit, Kumble's omission will be a big worry for the Indian team.

Dhoni has been asked to lead the country one more time. He has already proved his skills in short version of the game--the one-day and the 20-20. If he accepts the challenge and proves himself, it is good for India.

He is the first wicket keeper to captain India, which means, this is his first test as captain. We have to wait and see whether his captainship form continues in Kanpur!

Prasad and Robin Singh Stay!

The bowling coach and the fielding coach of the Indian Cricket Team has been retained for the forthcoming series against South Africa. It was said that the BCCI was not happy with them because they have signed IPL teams as coaches without consent from BCCI.

Venkatesh Prasad was retained after the improved performance in the bowling department during the down under series against Australia. He was signed by Vijay Mallya's Bangalore team and Robin Singh was signed by Hyderabad's team.

The speculation was that the new coach Gary Kirsten wanted his own men to support the Indian team in all the departments and BCCI was supporting the new coach. The post of the interim coach Lalchand Rajput is also under danger. It may be noted that this series of India against South Africa in India is the first official series for Gary Kisten as coach.

The official news is that, both Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh stay as bowling and fielding coach respectively.