Sachin sacked, it’s Azza again

MUMBAI, Jan 2: It's the end of Sachin Tendulkar's reign as Indian cricket captain. Well, at least for the present. The National selectors fe...

MUMBAI, Jan 2: It’s the end of Sachin Tendulkar’s reign as Indian cricket captain. Well, at least for the present. The National selectors fell back on Mohammed Azharuddin’s vast experience and impressive track record as a leader to re-instate him for the three-nation limited overs tournament at Dhaka, the subsequent Test series against Australia and the triangular series at home which would also feature Australia and Zimbabwe.

Ajay Jadeja was named Azhar’s deputy for the Dhaka event while the rest of the squad for the tournament would be announced tomorrow, informed Jayant Lele, secretary, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) when conveying the selectors’ unanimous judgment to repose their faith in the 34-year-old Hyderabad batsman.

“He (Tendulkar) did nothing wrong. But we thought that whatever is going wrong is because of the pressures of captaincy,” remarked Ramakant Desai, chairman of the selection committee on the decision to strip the 24-year-old Tendulkar of captaincy.

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Interestingly, the selectors downplayed the pep-talk’ given to Azharuddin exactly 15 days ago, after the latter’s commitment and attitude came under a cloud during the Champions Trophy tournament in Sharjah.

Central Zone selector Kishen Rungta categorically stated that Azhar’s attitude was never questioned by them when they had summoned him after choosing the team for two One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka.

“Azhar’s attitude problem was for the press. We did not reprimand him as has been reported. He was called up to boost his spirits after the Sharjah tournament. Let me clarify that he is a vital member of the team and it is our duty to safeguard every player from the press,” he added.

Rungta was furious when he was asked to justify the selection of Azharuddin when there have been allegations of match-fixing against him. “What is an allegation. Two hundred people write and two million people talk. There is no basis to it. I don’t know why the issue is being brought up after Justice Chandrachud had absolved the Indian players in his report,” he fumed.

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All the selectors, who were present during the press briefing, firmly denied the media buzz that Tendulkar had conveyed his reluctance to continue as captain.

“He is the only choice,” was how Desai described Azhar’s elevation which has put on hold Jadeja’s claims for the hot seat. “Azhar’s place is secure in all the Tests and one-dayers while Jadeja is not yet sure of his berth in Tests,” he added.

Moreover, the selectors were averse to the idea of having separate captains for the one-dayers and Tests.