Dilip Vengsarkar

Calcutta: “I wasn’t taken into confidence and, so, I had no inkling that Rahul (Dravid) didn’t want to continue as captain,” is what chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar had to say once the Board made public the Bangalorean’s decision.

Speaking to The Telegraph on Friday afternoon, Vengsarkar (himself a former captain) added: “Rahul’s a seasoned cricketer and knows what’s best for him… I’m sure he thought about it at length before informing the Board…

“After such a good tour of England, Rahul would definitely have been retained… Absolutely no question about it… I mean, it’s not that we’d begun looking for a new captain…”

Now, of course, Vengsarkar and his colleagues (Venkatapathi Raju, Bhupinder Singh, Sanjay Jagdale and Ranjib Biswal) have to do just that.

Asked if, in his opinion, there was a clear favourite, Vengsarkar replied: “It won’t be proper for me to say anything… The committee as a whole has to take a decision.”

Indirectly, the Board officials get involved as well.

Vengsarkar and Co. meet in Mumbai on Tuesday to pick the squad for the first three ODIs against Australia.

That’s when the ODI captain — Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in all probability — will be known.

Even if the Team India captaincy is to be split (with Sachin Tendulkar getting to lead in Tests), the selectors don’t have to name the Test captain that day.