India captain Rahul Dravid is resigning from the post to concentrate on his batting, cricket board president Sharad Pawar said on Friday.
”In the last few days he has told me that captaincy was affecting his game,” Pawar told reporters.
”He said he can’t handle both the responsibilities, which were leading to small deficiencies.
”He has said he would like to continue to play and improve upon his performance and also give full support to whoever takes the responsibility to lead the team.
”I think we should respect his view. We have accepted it,” he said, adding that the selection committee would decide on his successor.
Dravid (34) led India to their first Test series win in England for 21 years last month although he was below his best with the bat.
The Karnataka player replaced Suarav Ganguly as one-day captain in October 2005 and was made skipper of the Test side shortly after.
He led the team in 25 Tests and compiled an 8-6 win-loss record. In 2006, Dravid helped India register a first Test series victory against West Indies in the Caribbean for 35 years, but his low point came at this year’s World Cup when his side were eliminated in the first round after a shock defeat to Bangladesh.
India have a hectic schedule ahead. They host Australia in a seven-match one-day series starting on September 29 and then Pakistan for a Test and one-day series before leaving for a Test tour of Australia in December. — Reuters