8216;Dravid8217;s decision a bolt from the blue8217;

8220;He8217;s a good thinker on the game and a very clever person. He must have given it decision to step down a lot of consideration. We have to respect his decision,8221; the former Test middle order mainstay said from his hometown Pune.

Asked if the criticism leveled at 8216;The Wall8217; for not enforcing the follow-on in the final Test at the Oval could have anything to do with his decision to quit captaincy, Borde replied in the negative.

8220;No. I don8217;t think so. It not to enforce follow-on was a collective decision,8221; the former India skipper said, adding 8216;it was a very good tour and the atmosphere in the team was very good8217;.

India defeated England 1-0 in the three-Test series, their first triumph over the hosts in 21 years, before losing the seven-match ODI series 3-4 after clawing back from 1-3.

Dravid told BCCI Chief Sharad Pawar when the two met in Delhi on Thursday during the BCCI8217;s unveiling of its plans to start the Indian Premier League and Champions League that he wanted to step down in order to concentrate on his game.