Anil Kumble in Bangalore on Saturday. (PTI)

Calcutta: In not wanting to “expose” Mahendra Singh Dhoni to the pressures associated with a tough series, the Board didn’t exactly cover itself with glory (in Mohali) the other night.

First, chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar (a Board appointee) didn’t face the media. Then, joint-secretary Mohinder Pandove, who announced that Anil Kumble would captain in the three-Test series against Pakistan, didn’t take any questions either.

Their behaviour suggested a cloak-and-dagger operation had been accomplished when, actually, Vengsarkar and the Board should’ve proudly announced that one of India’s most distinguished cricketers had been rewarded for excellent service over 17 years.

The Board may not accept it, but it has slighted Kumble by treating his promotion as something as ordinary as an everyday occurrence.

The Sharad Pawar-headed body could be the richest in the business, but even the Bangladesh Cricket Board has a sense of occasion and follows protocol while making major announcements.

There’s little point talking about what Cricket Australia (CA) does, because our Board may not get there in five decades.

“Look, it got too late (on Thursday) and it wouldn’t have been possible to have a proper media conference… There could’ve been chaos,” Board secretary Niranjan Shah told The Telegraph on Saturday.

Pandove, who acted as the selection committee meeting’s convenor in the absence of Shah (who left Mohali early in the evening), repeated much of what the secretary said.

“It got very late and, so, there was really no time for a media conference… Kaise ho pata?”

Next time, hopefully, the Board will respect both the individual and the occasion.

Footnote: While on Bangladesh, the Board there has already appointed Dav Whatmore’s successor — another Australian, Jamie Siddons. However, our Board is struggling to get somebody for the chair occupied by Greg Chappell till early April.