Dravid resigns as India captain!!!

[Nocturnal]

Sends letter of resignation to board
Dravid resigns as India captain
Source: Cricinfo staff
September 14, 2007

Rahul Dravid has resigned as India captain with immediate effect. In a letter written to the Indian board, he has asked to be relieved of the captaincy before Australia's forthcoming tour of India, beginning later this month.
A statement from Niranjan Shah, secretary of the Indian board, said Dravid met Sharad Pawar, the board president, in New Delhi yesterday. He "expressed his desire to step down as captain of the Indian team and requested that he should not be considered for the job from the ensuing Australia series."
The statement said Dravid wanted to concentrate on his game.
Dravid, 33, has captained India in 25 Tests and 79 ODIs. He took over the captaincy from Sourav Ganguly two years ago, following India's tour of Zimbabwe.
Under his captaincy India won eight Tests, including series wins in Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh and England.

[Nocturnal]

what a surprise!!

[Tintin]

Being the Indian captain is the most thankless job in the world. No matter how well you do, half a billion people will abuse you.

[cricman]

The Criticism really got to him I think. If Dhoni can get India the 20/20 WC title than he'd go from people throwing stones at his house to being the The Captain in tests and ODI's. Ganguly would be the second favorite, given his great track record but I fear his Batting would go down again like it did. Than you got Yuvi, Kaif or Tendu

[Sohel]

Smart move from a smart gentleman ... I wonder who's next ...

[goru]

I can't believe he kept the job for this long. It's probably the least wanted captaincy post in world cricket.

[Ganguly da]

A: it was quite irresponsible to leave the team now after it has built itself, now it will take 6 months to get the mindset going.....quite selfish.

B: He should have done this after WC exit, but no he didn't.

C: We could have won 2-0 in tests and 5-2 in Odis against Eng, if not for some lame field settings and ridiculous decisions.

D: I don't think there was an unanimous decision by sachin and sourav when dravid declared that all 3 wouldn't be joining 20-20 WC (i'm not sure about this)

E: Knowing that India is about to play Pak after long time in a 20/20 WC, couldn't he have waited to break the news???? Just like how he declared when sachin was at 194.

F: This is a blessing in disguise. Hopefully, Dravid will get back into form. I don't think Sourav will take the job, and it should definitely go to Yuvi...he's the future.

[indfan82]

[quote=Ganguly da;542321]A: it was quite irresponsible to leave the team now after it has built itself, now it will take 6 months to get the mindset going.....quite selfish.

D: I don't think there was an unanimous decision by sachin and sourav when dravid declared that all 3 wouldn't be joining 20-20 WC (i'm not sure about this)

did you personally talk to your ganguly and tendulkar or did they call you up and let you know abt it.

[Hatebreed]

Originally Posted by Ganguly da
B: He should have done this after WC exit, but no he didn't.

C: We could have won 2-0 in tests and 5-2 in Odis against Eng, if not for some lame field settings and ridiculous decisions.

G: It was his fault that India were knocked out of the WC. Without him, India could have been champions.

Smart move I say. Let someone deal with the burden of expectations.

[Tintin]

Originally Posted by Hatebreed
G: It was his fault that India were knocked out of the WC. [snipped the rest ]

Smart move I say. Let someone deal with the burden of expectations.

He had to cop with most of the criticisms when India lost of the world cup (though the presence of Chappell helped to deflect some). Now India win a major series in England and still he receives more abuses than praise.

How enthusiastic would you be at work if you are insulted every moment, no matter how well you do, and most of it by people whose knowledge of the subject can be written on the back of a post card.

[Puck]

it's always best to resign while you are winning. he was seen as an uncontroversial choice who could build a bridge among senior players. that task now achieved perhaps ganguly should be given a second crack. sachin, now that he isn't the dashing batsman anymore could also come back. it certainly would prolong his career.

[Rubu]

Good for India bad for others, as I think Danguli will now get the captaincy back. I think Dravid was a below per captain whereas Danguli was innovative.

[Miraz]

I can't find his replacement in the India team. Probably our friends can help me.

Sachin - wasn't a good captain and too old to award captaincy again.

Ganguly - Was a great captain but again age is not in his side.

Laxman - Irregular and not a permanent fixture of ODI team.

Sehwag - Same as Laxman

Yuvraj - Not a permanent member of Test team.

Dhoni - I am not a big fan of his keeping. I am not so sure whether he is ready to be an Indian captain in Tests and ODI.

Who else?

[Tigers_eye]

I thought after the WC was the best time for him to move away. But he had to prove he was a better captain than the WC performance and stayed two more series. Won both Test series. Won the majority of the ODIs. (5-4)

Rahul is a class guy. The Classiest of all of them. Past and present. He represented India well when they had termoil. He is leaving India in better position than from what he got. That's all you can ask for as a captain. Many Greats can't say that. Such as Sachin, Ganguly etc. Do you guys remember the times when he was appointed? Politics among the team was high. Division in the team.

Wish him all the best.

India is already in the second round. Match against disarray Pakistani team is less important.

I am sure Dravid had asked the board or indicated the board that he wanted to leave and the board had insisted him to stay along.

[sandpiper]

Doraise...... samne Australia tour .....
triangular series against Australia and Srilanka ..nastanabud howar asonka ase

[mahbubH]

A true cricketer (gentleman) .. left the captaincy with grace!! A rare quality for a cricketer from the subcontinent!! Wish to see as a cricketer for a long time in future!

[syzygy]

glad that dravid resigned, he was too defensive and it was badly affecting his form lately...lets get sachin or sourav as test captain and yuvi as odi captain

[Tigers_eye]

Originally Posted by syzygy
glad that dravid resigned, he was too defensive and it was badly affecting his form lately...lets get sachin or sourav as test captain and yuvi as odi captain

3 captain for three format. nice!! more power struggle.

[syzygy]

Originally Posted by Tigers_eye
3 captain for three format. nice!! more power struggle.

tiger bhai, if there could be 3 different teams for these 3 different formats why not 3 different captains?

[Mahmood]

Now India will become a strong team, this is good for Indian cricket. Dravid was never captain material.

[Tigers_eye]

Originally Posted by syzygy
tiger bhai, if there could be 3 different teams for these 3 different formats why not 3 different captains?

great point!
But this is how i see it (more like Watmore approach).

Captain is the unconditional leader of the team. All players must follow his lead and instructions without fuss. Usually a captain can be defensive or offensive. A defensive captains approach would be different than the offensive minded captain. Now the players other than the three captains would have hard time adapting to the different styles of the captains. Also captain weighs in a lot in team selection and thus may create problem when favoring one in one format of the game. Retaliation can happen when my friend didn't get selected because of the other captain so i wouldn't select his friend. Things like that. We all know favoritism plays a huge role in selection because captains take their squads in to the field on whom they can trust. For team's interest there should be only one leader.

Now for India, they don't have a coach (matha). Therefore the captain's role becomes that much important for that cricket crazy nation. Definitely, Saurav will seek his old place because of the type of person he is. Tendu would want to stay away at this stage of his career. There is no one other than dhoni to get the captaincy and he is permanent player in all three form of the game. He is the future and the only one whom others (senior players) can rely on.

[Puck]

how about do something totally revolutionary and have a nonpalying captain, like they do for ryder cup golf?

[Bengaliprince176]

o i dunno what to say- Drvaid is a true gentleman of the game- and im guilty i have to admit of critiszing Dravid a lot since he took over Ganguly.... as a batsman he is one of the greats for India. i hope he finds his form back and finishes his career on a high!!

as for captaincy.... my hear says DADA!!!! but brain says Yuvraj!! either way- theyll be better than Dravid and move India forward

[Nocturnal]

The choice is between the untested and the, mostly, unwilling
Who after Dravid?
Anand Vasu
September 14, 2007
source

'Sure, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is someone being looked at in a captaincy role, but there was no chance he'd be handed the job just now, till Dravid made his decision to quit' © Getty Images

Till Friday, 14th September, Indian cricket was in search of a coach. Now, the appointment of the coach is a distant second with the quest to find a successor to Rahul Dravid becoming the burning concern. With a seven-ODI series against Australia beginning in just over a fortnight, there isn't much time. What's more worrying, though, is that there aren't too many obvious candidates either.

The first question the selectors have to answer is whether they want to look forward or back. If they choose to look forward then Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the front-runner by some way. But, that wouldn't just be looking forward, it would be fast-tracking someone who may or may not be ready for the job just yet. Dhoni has been handed the captaincy for the ICC World Twenty20, but no-one knows yet what his approach will be, what kind of captain he'd make or if he'd even be any good at it. Sure, Dhoni is someone being looked at in a captaincy role, but there was no chance he'd be handed the job just now, till Dravid made his decision to quit.

The most serious and immediate concern over appointing Dhoni captain is one of work-load. Will wicketkeeping and leading the team be too much to handle? With Dinesh Karthik in the mix, will Dhoni give up the gloves, lead the team, and play as a pure batsman? At the moment Dhoni doesn't quite cut it as a No. 5 batsman in Tests. And, if the big gloves are taken away from him, and his primary responsibility withdrawn, he won't enjoy the same insurance against poor form that he does now. A couple of low scores and the pressure will be on him.

The second thing the selectors will have to ponder when short-listing Dhoni for the job is the fact that the Indian captaincy is different from any other. It's not merely calling right at the toss, helping select teams or setting fields. If anything, that's the easy part. Those internal pressures are something Dhoni will be able to handle, being the sensible and level-headed cricketer that he is. It's what comes from outside that pose the biggest challenge. The expectations of a nation, the ire of fickle fans who have already defaced Dhoni's house once for no fault of his, the ever-present attention of a demanding media, the constant cajoling and confrontation with various sections of the board to get things done ... How well would Dhoni cope? Someone like Dravid didn't think it was worth it beyond a point.

If the selectors choose to look back, then there are two serious options in Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, the first of whom relinquished the captaincy, and the second had it taken away because his batting went to pieces. Whether either wants it back, no-one is sure, but the whispers have never been too far away. At one point in the not-so-distant past, Tendulkar was appointed vice-captain, and reportedly gave some decision makers the impression that he would not be "averse to the idea" if he was offered the captaincy. Since then, though, he has said more than once that it is not a job he has coveted.
Will the selectors go long-term? Will they only appoint someone for the home one-dayers against Australia and worry about the Tests later? Will they split the captaincy?

Ganguly knows better than anyone in the running what the stresses of captaincy can do to a cricketer. And he knows how much it can take out of a person. After a spell out of the team that involved much heartburn he's now settled back into the groove, and is batting as well has he has in a long time. In England he was more assured at the crease than some of his more technically accomplished colleagues. With sheer determination and grit Ganguly has overcome more obstacles, and spent more time at the crease, than many of his detractors thought possible. Would he want to risk throwing that all away, taking up the captaincy again?

Beyond these three, there are no real candidates. Yuvraj Singh was once vice-captain and supposedly being groomed for the role but he can't find a place in the Test side. VVS Laxman has plenty of leadership experience but there's no place for him in the one-day team. Virender Sehwag, another one spoken of as a possible inheritor of Ganguly's mantle can't find a place in either team at the moment.

Will the selectors go long-term? Will they only appoint someone for the home one-dayers against Australia and worry about the Tests later? Will they split the captaincy? Dilip Vengsarkar, who said he was in a meeting when contacted soon after Dravid's decision was made public, did not want to comment. And, given some of the choices his committee has made in the recent past, and some of the statements he has made in interviews recently, that might just be the best way forward till September 18, when a successor to Dravid is appointed.

[al Furqaan]

dravid had his problems and his plusses too...but i would say he prolly wasn't a good skip overall.

plus most indian fans hated his guts. i'll admit he was kinda a wuss a la bashar.

but if you compare him to bashar he was 1000 times as aggressive.