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InDepth headlines national business sports cricket regional entertainment technology world travel autos health | in-depth coverage > Sachin Tendulkar > Sachin Tendulkar refuses Test captaincy 23.00 IST 06th Nov 2007 By Agencies 
Sachin Tendulkar today dropped a bombshell by turning down the offer to become the captain of India's Test team, leaving the young Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the front-runner for the top job in the longer version of the game as well.In a dramatic development just two days before Tendulkar's appointment was to be formally announced in Chandigarh, the 34-year-old batsman informed the Board President Sharad Pawar and the selectors that he would not like to take up the captaincy. Tendulkar, who has had three stints as India's captain in the past, had initially agreed to take over the mantle after Rahul Dravid stepped down but had a change of mind and declined the job, citing personal reason. A highly placed BCCI personnel said Tendulkar had given his views to the BCCI President and selectors. "I cannot say what prompted him to take such a decision but it is for some personal reason. All I can says is that he does not want to be the Test captain at this stage," the source said. The selectors will meet in Chandigarh on Thursday to announce the team for the remaining three one-dayers against Pakistan and also the new Test captain with Dhoni now emerging as the front-runner for the hot seat. Tendulkar's reluctance has virtually paved the way for Dhoni to take over the reins of the Test team as well although many former Indian cricketers were not in favour of putting any additional pressure on the youngster. India has been without a Test captain for nearly seven weeks now ever since Dravid abruptly quit the post after the team's successful tour of England, saying that he wanted to concentrate on batting. With Tendulkar now out of the equation the 26-year-old Dhoni, who has been impressive in the Twenty20 and ODIs, could be given the job on the short-term basis. One of the selectors said on condition of anonymity that Dhoni now stood a good chance to be the Test captain. "Tendulkar was the preferred choice but now it will be Dhoni, who has done a good job in one-dayers as well as in Twenty20," he said. Former captain Sourav Ganguly is said to be out of contention with the selectors not wanting to go back to the Bengal left-hander while Yuvraj Singh, the one-day vice-captain, is not a regular in the Test squad. Veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble and the stylish VVS Laxman are the two seniors in the team who could be considered but it sis unlikely that the two will be in the scheme of things. Tendulkar's surprise decision to turn down the captaincy has triggered the speculation that what could be the reason. Reports say that Tendulkar was unhappy with selectors in their handling of the senior players in the team and Chief Selector Dilip Vengsarkar's statement that seniors could not take their place for granted and Dravid's omission from the one-day team did not go down well with the Mumbai stalwart. A BCCI official, however, was quick to quash such speculation, saying Tendulkar's decision had nothing to do with the selection committee. Tendulkar, who succeeded Mohammad Azharuddin in 1996 after the tour of England, had three stints as India captain during which he led the side in 25 Tests, winning four and losing nine. Tendulkar gave up the captaincy after the two-Test series against South Africa in 2000. in-depth coverage > Sachin Tendulkar > |
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