Former captains Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri

Nagpur: Four former captains of India — Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri — have welcomed the near clean sweep by Anil Kumble and his team in the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) elections.

Kumble, the KSCA president, is also an ex-India captain. His star-studded team includes Jawagal Srinath, the new secretary.

While The Telegraph spoke to Gavaskar, Vengsarkar (a vice-president of the Mumbai Cricket Association) and Shastri in neighbouring Jamtha, on Monday morning, Kapil was contacted in Shanghai.

The following are excerpts (compilation in order of seniority)

GAVASKAR: I’m very happy... The wrong (Gundappa Viswanath’s defeat at the hands of Mysore royal S.D.N. Wadiyar) of 2007 has been corrected... The good thing about Kumble and Srinath is that they’ve been achievers and will try and take Karnataka forward. Of course, I’d like more former cricketers to come into administration, but there will be some associations, like Goa and Tripura, who won’t have ex-India players to fight the elections.

[Incidentally, the congratulatory call, from Little Master I to Kumble, on Monday afternoon, went as follows: “Hello, this is Sunnybhai... Congratulations and all the best... If you need to talk to me about anything, I’m available... Do well and God bless.”]

VENGSARKAR: I’m delighted... Very good news... Kumble has always been passionate and committed... I’m sure he’ll be approaching this job with the same degree of passion and commitment that he showed during his playing days... I hope former cricketers elsewhere will be inspired to come together like Kumble and the rest.

KAPIL: It’s a matter of pride for me... Very happy... I hope Kumble and Sri stay committed to their vision and not make compromises... Brijesh (Patel, who’d been secretary for 12 years), I know, started very well, but then lost his way... He became like one of those who didn’t have a cricket background... Kumble and Sri should look after the interests of players only... It would be nice for more former cricketers to turn to administration, but it’s not easy as some constitutions are such that no ‘outsider’ can make it... I’m talking from experience... I couldn’t bring about a change in Haryana, in the second half of the 1990s.

SHASTRI: It’s good and a great opportunity for Karnataka... Kumble is high on integrity, as is Srinath, and so nobody will ask questions... I have no issues with former cricketers coming into administration, but the mix has to be right... You need the right people, that’s the bottomline.