Line & Length
R Mohan
Tendulkar says 'no'
November 07, 2007
Sachin Tendulkar broke his enigmatic silence on the Indian Test captaincy to tell a television channel on Tuesday that he is reluctant to take on the mantle. ("I don't feel right about it at the moment"). He is also reported to have written to BCCI president Sharad Pawar indicating his disinclination to lead, which is a decision based on 'personal reasons.'
On a day on which rumours flew fast and were as thick as fog in Delhi on a winter's day, the captaincy issue has opened up like a Pandora's Box, that too barely two days before the selectors were to formally anoint the 'Little Master' as India's Test captain.
A lot could still happen in a day and a likely one among such moves is Pawar convincing Tendulkar to go ahead and take the Test captaincy. But then, Sachin is said to have pointed out to Pawar in his letter that the seniors were not being treated fairly in Team India and that selection was not a just process anymore.
If he has such points against the establishment, it is unlikely he will be willing to change his mind.
In the event of Sachin continuing to refuse, (he led India twice between 1996 and 2001, stepping down the second time on admitting failure), the curious turn of events could pitchfork Mahendra Singh Dhoni into a unified triple role of leading India in all three forms of cricket - Tests, ODIs and Twenty-20.
The Indian Test captain has to tackle three significant series this season itself - versus Pakistan, Australia and South Africa.
Dhoni, India's Twenty-20 World Cup winning captain who has also been leading the ODI side after Rahul Dravid vacated the hot spot seven weeks ago, is already well into a multi-tasking role.
He will be loaded with the onerous responsibility of leading India in all forms of the game while also being the wicket-keeper and a key batsman of the middle order.
Many have failed to cope with the triple role of specialist batsman, 'keeper and captain, the last notable one being Alec Stewart of England.
The only other candidates who may come into the picture are Anil Kumble and V.V.S. Laxman, though given the trend that seems to be working against seniors they should strictly be considered long shots. A couple of former players spoke up for the return of Sourav Ganguly, which would be the mother of all comebacks. Given his fitness levels and the history of his displacement as India's most successful captain, he is the rank outsider.
Among former cricketers. Ravi Shastri, who has worn many hats in and around Indian cricket, is one who is convinced that it is risky to load Dhoni with such a responsibility. "It will put him under a lot of pressure. In future he may do it but not at this moment. He has a lot of talent but I think he is not ready for this responsibility now," Shastri told reporters.
Former Team India coach Greg Chappell believes that it is too early to burden Dhoni. "He (Dhoni) is doing his apprenticeship in the limited over forms of the game. Probably another 12 months or more before he is perhaps ready for all three of them," Chappell told a TV channel.
Dilip Vengsarkar, who is at the epicenter of the captaincy issue, is also maintaining silence before he swings into the task of leading the meeting at Mohali on Thursday where India's new Test captain is likely to be unveiled, that is if Sachin is still reluctant.
It is learnt that Vengsarkar was the one who had earlier offered the Test role to Tendulkar after Dravid stepped down.
The chief selector who is thought to have played a role behind the scenes to create the vacuum that came about when Dravid opted to quit will now have to sort out the mess himself. If Sachin refuses to budge from refusing the offer of captaincy, Vengsarkar will be the one out on a limb because he is the one who brought Sachin back from the 'outer' and made him the vice-captain to the World Cup.
While selectors have been quoted as saying that nothing was decided about the captaincy even before the rumours about Sachin's reluctance broke out have now to abandon their indecision and arrive at a consensus.
A majority of them are for Dhoni to keep the job in all forms of the game so as to avoid any kind of dual power centre in the team. The consensus will, in all probably, favour Dhoni.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
On a day on which rumours flew fast and were as thick as fog in Delhi on a winter's day, the captaincy issue has opened up like a Pandora's Box, that too barely two days before the selectors were to formally anoint the 'Little Master' as India's Test captain.
A lot could still happen in a day and a likely one among such moves is Pawar convincing Tendulkar to go ahead and take the Test captaincy. But then, Sachin is said to have pointed out to Pawar in his letter that the seniors were not being treated fairly in Team India and that selection was not a just process anymore.
If he has such points against the establishment, it is unlikely he will be willing to change his mind.
In the event of Sachin continuing to refuse, (he led India twice between 1996 and 2001, stepping down the second time on admitting failure), the curious turn of events could pitchfork Mahendra Singh Dhoni into a unified triple role of leading India in all three forms of cricket - Tests, ODIs and Twenty-20.
The Indian Test captain has to tackle three significant series this season itself - versus Pakistan, Australia and South Africa.
Dhoni, India's Twenty-20 World Cup winning captain who has also been leading the ODI side after Rahul Dravid vacated the hot spot seven weeks ago, is already well into a multi-tasking role.
He will be loaded with the onerous responsibility of leading India in all forms of the game while also being the wicket-keeper and a key batsman of the middle order.
Many have failed to cope with the triple role of specialist batsman, 'keeper and captain, the last notable one being Alec Stewart of England.
The only other candidates who may come into the picture are Anil Kumble and V.V.S. Laxman, though given the trend that seems to be working against seniors they should strictly be considered long shots. A couple of former players spoke up for the return of Sourav Ganguly, which would be the mother of all comebacks. Given his fitness levels and the history of his displacement as India's most successful captain, he is the rank outsider.
Among former cricketers. Ravi Shastri, who has worn many hats in and around Indian cricket, is one who is convinced that it is risky to load Dhoni with such a responsibility. "It will put him under a lot of pressure. In future he may do it but not at this moment. He has a lot of talent but I think he is not ready for this responsibility now," Shastri told reporters.
Former Team India coach Greg Chappell believes that it is too early to burden Dhoni. "He (Dhoni) is doing his apprenticeship in the limited over forms of the game. Probably another 12 months or more before he is perhaps ready for all three of them," Chappell told a TV channel.
Dilip Vengsarkar, who is at the epicenter of the captaincy issue, is also maintaining silence before he swings into the task of leading the meeting at Mohali on Thursday where India's new Test captain is likely to be unveiled, that is if Sachin is still reluctant.
It is learnt that Vengsarkar was the one who had earlier offered the Test role to Tendulkar after Dravid stepped down.
The chief selector who is thought to have played a role behind the scenes to create the vacuum that came about when Dravid opted to quit will now have to sort out the mess himself. If Sachin refuses to budge from refusing the offer of captaincy, Vengsarkar will be the one out on a limb because he is the one who brought Sachin back from the 'outer' and made him the vice-captain to the World Cup.
While selectors have been quoted as saying that nothing was decided about the captaincy even before the rumours about Sachin's reluctance broke out have now to abandon their indecision and arrive at a consensus.
A majority of them are for Dhoni to keep the job in all forms of the game so as to avoid any kind of dual power centre in the team. The consensus will, in all probably, favour Dhoni.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
