Rediff

Rajkot, Jul 12: India Test captain Anil Kumble has been ticked off by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for revealing details to the media about discussions that took place at the last selection committee meeting convened on July 8 to choose the Indian team for the Test series in Sri Lanka.

BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said from Rajkot that while the captain of the team can address press conferences, he is not supposed to reveal details of selection matters.

"The captain cannot tell the media what has taken place at selection committee meetings and on selection policies. And that's the reason a letter has been sent to him by the BCCI," Shah said.

"I have been informed by [national selection committee] chairman Dilip Vengsarkar that a local newspaper, has published some story about selection meeting which is attributed to you," Shah's letter to Kumble said.

"You are aware that proceedings of the selection committee are not supposed to be divulged and is certainly not meant for public discussion. As a senior player you should have restrained from [giving] such interviews," it added.

Kumble had revealed to interviewer Rajan Bala, a veteran sports journalist, that the selectors wanted Rahul Dravid to be the back-up wicketkeeper during the Test series, after the pull-out of regular stumper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who wanted a break, which was not acceptable to him.

"Well, when I was told that Dhoni has made himself unavailable I had to ensure that the wicket keeping department was catered to. I insisted on the second wicket keeper because there was a view that we could do with one specialist," Kumble had said in the interview.

"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 wicket keeper, 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 wicket keeper," Kumble had said.

"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 wicket keeping experiences in ODIs," the Test skipper was quoted as saying.

In the absence of Dhoni, the selectors have chosen Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel as the two wicketkeepers for the three-Test series, beginning on July 23.