The Hindu : Sport : Dravid steps down as skipper

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Saturday, Sep 15, 2007
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Sport

Dravid steps down as skipper

Special Correspondent

Indicates that he wants to concentrate on his game

Dravid as captain
Tests: 25, 8, 0, 11, 6 (played, won, tie, draw, lost); ODIs: 79, 42, 33, 0, 4 (played, won, lost, tie, NR).

— Photo: AFP

TOUGH DECISION: Among the many decisions he may have taken as a cricketer and as a captain, stepping down as captain must be Rahul Dravid’s toughest.

NEW DELHI: Rahul Dravid surprised the cricketing world on Friday by announcing his decision to step down as captain of the Indian cricket team.

Board President Sharad Pawar told mediapersons here that Dravid discussed the subject with him twice, once in London and when he met him here on Thursday. “We should respect his decision. I forwarded the communication to the Board’s headquarters and requested that it be informed to the media.”

Mr. Pawar revealed that Dravid had indicated that he wanted to concentrate on his game. Dravid wanted the opportunity to be given to a new person, revealed Mr. Pawar.

Grateful

According to Mr. Pawar, Dravid told him he was grateful that the selectors had placed faith in him to lead the side continuously for two years.

Asked about the appointment of the new captain, Mr. Pawar said that the selection committee would take a decision at an appropriate time.

Later in the afternoon, Board secretary Niranjan Shah met mediapersons at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground during the second day of the India ‘A’-South Africa ‘A’ Test match and said, “The selectors will name the new captain in two days.”

Great asset

Shah went on to describe Dravid as a “great asset” to the team and said, “at a certain point, every player has the right to take any decision.” He categorically stated that there was no attempt yet to dissuade Dravid to reconsider his decision.

India’s next series is against the Australian team which is arriving on September 25 for a seven-match one-day series.

The selection committee chairman Dilip Vengsarkar, who is also here, was informed of Dravid’s decision by the journalists. He was initially unaware of the developments.

“Nobody told me anything. It is news to me. I don’t know anything,” was how Vengsarkar reacted but later went on to state that the decision on the new captain and the team to play against Australia would be announced on September 18.

Special Correspondent from Mumbai reports

A burden?

A pointer to Dravid’s thoughts on captaincy was his reply to former England captain Michael Atherton who asked him if he found leading a cricket crazy nation a burden. “Burden is too strong a word and people say that because of how I look. I’m not naturally a cheery-looking soul on the field. I do enjoy it but there are aspects I find tough.

“What I find hardest is the absolute lack of proportion. It makes it very hard to build a team when two or three bad games provoke such an extreme reaction. The media in India have been changing rapidly.

“I actually enjoy reading the papers over here because I’ll get criticised for how I actually captain the team, the bowling changes I make and the field placings I set, rather than, for example, how many times I clap my hands and something equally irrelevant,” said Dravid.

With the changing profile of the Indian team, the selectors are likely to name a new captain so that he can bring in fresh ideas. The clear front-runner is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The selectors on their own may not look towards Sourav Ganguly or Sachin Tendulkar, but there is a possibility the BCCI may persuade the Mumbai batsman to take charge for the Test series against Pakistan. Luck has not been with Virender Sehwag in the last few months. Will the Twenty20 World Cup turn out to be a harbinger of good things to come for the dashing opener? Time will tell.

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