Newindpress

Mumbai, Sep 18: Sachin Tendulkar was expected to shoulder the responsibility again, after Rahul Dravid’s shocking resignation as captain. But Tendulkar has specifically said no to being appointed as captain of the one-day team. Instead, he has agreed and accepted the BCCI offer to become the captain of the Test team.

Sources in the BCCI confirmed on Monday evening that the 34-year-old, keeping in mind the increasing pressures of one-day cricket, has decided to decline the offer that was made to him on April 17, a day before the selectors were to select the 15-member squad for the ODI series at home against Australia and Pakistan.

Instead, Tendulkar has spoken to top BCCI officials and expressed his willingness to take over the Test team.

Given Tendulkar’s refusal, the selectors have now virtually decided to hand the job over to India’s current Twenty20 captain MS Dhoni. While the board is keen on saying they’re “looking at the future”, it should be mentioned that Dhoni has been considered only after Tendulkar’s refusal.

The selectors will name only the ODI skipper on Tuesday, keeping in mind the next immediate assignments of the national team. The announcement on Tendulkar will be made official when the team for Tests against Pakistan gets selected. Sources further inform that the batsman is keen on resting himself for a few matches in the series against Pakistan and Australia.

BCCI president Sharad Pawar said, “The board does not have a problem with split captaincy as long as selectors are okay with it.”

Dhoni’s captaincy at the Twenty20 championship may not be the sole reason for his elevation. Selectors and senior players have observed how the 26-year-old happens to be a level-headed cricketer, armed with the ability to react well in pressure situations.