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[broadbat]

The only player who at this point is certain to tour Australia seems to be Anil Kumble who has been confirmed as the captain. It is my belief that having a Test captain who is a bowler and a spinner to boot is a definite drawback. It limits the bowling combinations for the side. This holds good especially for sub continental teams when they tour abroad.
Leaving aside the dilemma of over bowling or under bowling ones self, it is the other aspect of whether you are the right bowler for a particular wicket that concerns me.
The most likely bowling combinations when India play Australia Down Under will be 3 pacers and 1 spinner except perhaps at Sydney. This means that with Kumble taking the spinners slot by default the other spinners in the side will not get a look in. What would you do if you are up against an Australian side with 4 top order left handed batsmen where you obvious choice for a lone spinner would be an offie.
What if it is a slow wicket with some grass where a finger spinner is required to extract some turn? Or worse, it is a green top where a spinner is not required at all. We may have no answers to these questions.
I doubt we will have the luxury of being able to play the additional bowler at the expense of a batsman in Australia.
There is no doubt on Kumble’s ability to captain the side, just if he is the right man for this tour ahead.

[gouravk]

it holds only because at this point kumble is by such a big margin our best spinner that he would easily beat harbhajan (or anyone else) even if bowling against a team of 11 lefties ... so it is ok ....