Anil Kumble’s phone has been ringing incessantly since Thursday night’s announcement by the Board of Control for Cricket in India that he will lead India during the three-Test home series against Pakistan. The 37-year-old, though, is accustomed to people wanting a piece of him most of the time. After all, there is a price to pay for taking all ten Test wickets in an innings, for being India’s greatest match-winner, and for being Test cricket’s third most prolific wicket-taker!

To some, Kumble’s appointment might have come as a surprise, but the only surprise lies in the inordinate delay in his elevation to the Indian captaincy. Kumble himself doesn’t want to reflect publicly on that topic, as befits the man.

“I felt proud and honoured,” Kumble told Deccan Herald of what his immediate reaction was when one-time spin partner and current national selector Venkatapathi Raju called him up late on Thursday night to convey the good news. “At the same time, I am aware of the huge responsibilities and the high pressure that goes with the job.

All told, I am ready to take up the challenge.”

So, did he have an inkling that he might become the captain? “Possibly,” he replied. “Once Sachin said no to the job, I thought maybe, but I wasn’t giving it too much thought.”

Despite the tour of Australia starting no more than two days after the last Test against Pakistan, the selectors have named him captain for just the home series. “I would like to take things as they come,” Kumble observed, steering clear of controversy. “I don’t read too much into it, it’s a bit too early for me to comment on that. I am sure when I meet with the selectors, I will know exactly what they have in mind.”

Ask him what kind of captain he thinks he is, and pat comes the reply, “I would like to ensure that we keep fighting till the end, and never ever give up. I would like to ensure that miracles do happen. I always think, no matter what situation, that there is someone on the field who can work a miracle, and I will look for him.

“I have always been a very positive person, I have never lost hope or given up. I would like to cultivate that thinking and that work ethic in the team, that is what I would like to leave behind. Sometimes the results will come your way, sometimes they will not, but if you keep fighting and keep working hard, eventually the results will come your way on a consistent basis.

“I have been busy answering the phone and talking to the media in the last several hours,” he laughed. “Once I get to relax a little bit and start thinking, I will try and put things in place. I will co-ordinate with the team management, make sure that the transition is smooth. Obviously, I will have a chat with (one-day skipper) MS (Dhoni) as well. It will be a hands-on thing. There is just two days between us landing in New Delhi and the first Test, so I will be thinking more about the Test itself than the captaincy, I guess.”

Kumble’s team will have three former national skippers, and a current one too. “That’s not a problem at all, it has never been an issue,” he observed, emphatically. “I am sure I will have the full support of my team-mates.

“There is mutual respect amongst us. At the end of the day, captaincy is about man management, trying to bring the best out of the team. I would like to see a relaxed atmosphere, and that all players are at the top of their game so that we can achieve team goals.”