News Roundup: Tendulkar takes over (29 July 1999)

29 July 1999

News Roundup: Tendulkar takes over

Peter Deeley

India have sacked Mohammad Azharuddin as captain and replaced him with Sachin Tendulkar for the forthcoming limited-overs matches in Sri Lanka and Singapore.

Tendulkar was the unanimous choice of the Indian selectors and is expected to be named captain for the rest of the season in September.

This will be Tendulkar's second stint as captain. The 26-year-old was first given the job in similar circumstances when Azharuddin was sacked in 1996.

But a collapse in his form led to Azharuddin taking over again a year later.

Azharuddin's removal this time was widely expected after his poor batting form in the World Cup in June, where India failed to qualify for the semi-finals.

Azharuddin is India's most successful captain, with 14 Test wins in 47 matches. The team, however, while formidable at home, have struggled on tour.

Azharuddin has played more one-day internationals (323) and scored more one-day runs (9,110) than any other player in world cricket.

Wasim Akram, the suspended Pakistan captain, began answering questions yesterday into alleged match-fixing and bribery.

Saifur Rehman, chairman of the government accountability bureau, said that Wasim had agreed to co-operate with the process during a meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Ijaz Ahmed is due to appear before the bureau today, followed by Salim Malik, the third suspended player.

Kenya's captain Asif Karim has retired from international cricket. He has been captain since Kenya attained one-day international status two years ago but, at 35, has decided to make way for younger players.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)