India's new Test captain relishes challenge

Seasoned spinner Anil Kumble was named India's Test captain on Thursday as the selectors opted to give Mahendra Singh Dhoni more experience of the five-day game.

Kumble, 37, was chosen to lead for three Test matches against Pakistan starting later this month at the conclusion of the current one-day series, Indian cricket board official Mohinder Pandove said.

"Kumble has been named only for the Pakistan series," Pandove told reporters in a brief statement.

Dhoni, 26, who took over as one-day and Twenty20 captain in September, was considered the frontrunner for the Test role after senior pro Sachin Tendulkar turned down an offer from the selectors.

But the five-man selection committee, headed by former captain Dilip Vengsarkar, felt Dhoni's 20 Tests in two years left the dashing wicketkeeper-batsman too raw to assume the mantle.

Kumble, a veteran of 118 Tests, succeeds his Karnataka team mate Rahul Dravid, who unexpectedly resigned as captain after the England tour in September for unspecified reasons.

The leg-spinner is India's most successful bowler and his 566 Test wickets are bettered only by Australia's Shane Warne (708) and Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan (702).