Michael Vaughan

Colombo: Michael Vaughan’s decision to relinquish England’s Test captaincy after losing the ongoing series to South Africa continues to be talked about. As also his superb record: 26 wins, 11 losses in 51 Tests.

On Tuesday evening, The Telegraph spoke to India’s Test captain Anil Kumble and two former captains — Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid — for their views.

While the captaincy was taken away from Sourav (India’s most successful in Tests) after a lengthy run of five-and-a-half years, successor Rahul chose to leave the hottest seat after being in it for around two years.

Kumble

Ganguly

Dravid

The following are excerpts from what they said (in alphabetical order):

Whether Vaughan’s decision came as a surprise

DRAVID: Sitting thousands of miles away, it’s difficult to say anything... I don’t know what was going on in his mind.

GANGULY: Yes, it did surprise... I can’t understand why he left the captaincy with one Test in the series remaining... He could have waited for it to end but, then, that’s a personal observation.

KUMBLE: I didn’t expect him to step down (now)... Having said that, I’m not aware of what he was going through.

Vaughan as captain

DRAVID: He was tactically good... I watched him from close during our tour of England last year... Also watched bits of his captaincy during the 2005 Ashes, which England won.

GANGULY: Very good, I mean his record proves it... However, in the 2005 Ashes for example, he had an excellent attack at his disposal... Had wicket-taking bowlers.

KUMBLE: He was good... As captain, he definitely had a presence on and off the field and helped England achieve the results they did during his tenure.

Whether captains have a shelf life

DRAVID: Don’t know...

GANGULY: Yes, I think so... Probably five-six years... It’s a personal thing, really... Depends on the individual.

KUMBLE: Difficult to say... Possibly...

Finally, thoughts on Kevin Pietersen, who has been given the Test and ODI captaincy

DRAVID: He’s England’s best batsman, but can’t comment whether his batting will get affected... What I can say is that he’ll be as good as his team. That’s how it works.

GANGULY: It’s to be seen whether his natural flair gets curbed... It will be interesting to see how he handles himself.

KUMBLE: Difficult to form an opinion on whether captaincy will affect his batting.