As you read this, the five Indian Test selectors are puzzling over the question of who will bear the burden of being captain of India. Ladies and gentlemen, here are the contenders: The Incumbent: Sourav Ganguly
The tragedy with Sourav Ganguly is that he has everything India needs from a captain. In his stint so far he has brought aggression to the field, and has given back as good as he has got. His immense self-belief has been backed by an equal amount of faith in his players. He's given newcomers enough of a window in the side to prove themselves, and once he's believed in someone, he's put his captaincy at stake to back them. It's paid off with Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag; and may well do so yet with Yuvraj Singh and Ajit Agarkar.

The flip side is that his aggression has often crossed that slimmest of lines into arrogance, and while the players love him, he has got under the skin of the selectors, not to mention rival captains. But the biggest reason the captaincy is being discussed at all is his batting. Ganguly's struggles against the short ball have reached a stage where his place in the Test side is, justifiably, in question. In such circumstances - after all, he is no Mike Brearley - his days at the top look numbered.

The Vice-Captain: Rahul Dravid
There is no doubting this man's character, or his cricket intelligence. He is respected by his fellow players, is articulate and forthright, and has experience of captaincy at the first-class level, having led Karnataka to victory in the 1997-98 Ranji Trophy. With the nation fed up of Ganguly's tantrums, Dravid would bring dignity and grace to the job.

But can he handle the pressure? Too often as a batsman, Dravid has got bogged down in difficult situations, struggling to cope with the expectations placed on him. The expectations placed on a captain and the pressure he experiences, is even more. If he can't take the heat as a batsman, could he manage it as captain?

The Old Pro: Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is the brains trust of the team: he's got the brains, and you can trust him. India's biggest matchwinner of the last ten years is cool under pressure, and looked up to by his team-mates, especially fellow spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was helped at the nets before the series against Australia by a selfless Kumble. He is techno-savvy, has a great work-ethic - witness his smooth comeback from his shoulder injury - and is the man successive Indian captains have turned to in a crisis. He has also been a successful captain at the domestic level, leading Karnataka to a Ranji triumph in 1995-96. And he looked good in the one-day international when he stood in against England.

But he is, at best, a short-term solution. Kumble's overseas record as a bowler is abysmal. India are likely to play Tests in Australia, South Africa and West Indies with three fast bowlers and a spinner. If Kumble is captain, and therefore an automatic inclusion, that could adversely affect the balance of the team by ruling out other spinning options. He has performed admirably in recent times, but age is not on his side, and three top-class spinners in Harbhajan Singh, Sarandeep Singh and Murali Kartik are on his heels. A year or two down the line, a Ganguly-like situation might emerge, where the captain has to be changed because he is not sure of his place in the team.

His Highness: Sachin Tendulkar
Whoever is the captain, Tendulkar is the undisputed leader in the team. When the going gets tough, all his team-mates look to him for inspiration. His cricket brain is awesome and he leads from the front. At 28, he has at least seven to eight years of cricket left in him, and over 12 years behind him already. His previous stints have gone wrong for a variety of reasons - including some non-cricketing ones. He has been reluctant to take up the job since, but time heals all wounds, and he himself has indicated that if the circumstances are right, he wouldn't mind leading again.

So who will it be?
Inside sources whisper that Ganguly and Kumble are the two names that will be under discussion by Borde and his merry band of selectors. The Incumbent might manage to keep his job for the series against Zimbabwe, which India should win comfortably. That will give Ganguly the chance to up his batting average, which could help him keep his job. Only time will tell ...

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

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