Tendulkar to step down, mystery shrouds decision

In a move that rocked the Indian cricketing world, Sachin Tendulkar walked to the press box along with the chairman of the selection committee Chandu Borde and Jaywant Lele, Secretary, Board of Control for Cricket in India and before the board officials could announce the team for the first Test against South Africa, the Indian captain walked up to the microphone and began "I have an announcement to make..."

The press waited in anticipation as Tendulkar announced that he would be stepping down as captain of the Indian team after the two Test matches against South Africa.

The Indian captain read out a written statement to that effect. Tendulkar said that "in the beginning of the season when the then chairman of selectors Wadekar met me and offered me the captaincy, I hesitated as I was not mentally prepared at that time. In spite of that I accepted. I took it up as I was most experienced and the selectors thought I was best suited for the job. I went to Australia knowing fully well the difficulty, given their status as current World Champions. But I don't want to make any excuses for our performance in Australia."

In a sentence that was vintage Tendulkar, he went on to explain: "As captain, I accept moral responsibility for our failure and after a lot of thought I have decided to step down as captain after the two Tests against South Africa."

In closing, Tendulkar added that he would continue to give one hundred percent like he always had and that he had no problems playing either with or under any individual. He also thanked his team mates and the Board for all their support.

The Press Box went silent for a second and was soon abuzz with questions. Tendulkar left soon after, but the chairman of selectors was bombarded with many sticky questions about the inclusion of Mohammed Azharuddin after his long period of exclusion. When asked about Tendulkar's decision, Borde said: "We tried to persuade him to continue, but he had made up his mind. It was his decision. There is nothing we can do about it."

The announcement from Tendulkar comes alongside the announcement of Azharuddin's recall to the Indian team. Yet Tendulkar has said he has no problems playing under or with anyone. Also interesting is the fact that Kapil Dev, the coach of the Indian team, did not attend the selection meeting. Nothing more needs to be said. As another round of Indian cricket selection unfolds, the murky undercurrents become clearer and clearer.