Dravid resigns as India captain

Rahul Dravid has resigned as India captain with immediate effect. In a letter written to the Indian board, he has asked to be relieved of the captaincy before Australia's forthcoming tour of India, beginning later this month.
Niranjan Shah, secretary of the Indian board, said Dravid met Sharad Pawar, the board president, in New Delhi yesterday. "He expressed his desire to step down as captain of the Indian team and requested that he should not be considered for the job from the ensuing Australia series," Shah said.
The board, he said, did not try to dissuade Dravid, who wanted to concentrate on his game. "A player has to decide for himself", Shah said.
Shah told Cricinfo the board would meet within the next two days to appoint the next captain. "We will take a decision very soon." Australia arrive in India on September 25 and the first of seven ODIs is in Bangalore four days later.
Dravid, 33, has captained India in 25 Tests and 79 ODIs. He took over the captaincy from Sourav Ganguly two years ago, following India's tour of Zimbabwe.
Under his captaincy India won eight Tests, including series wins in Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh and England.
However, Dravid's form with the bat in Tests seemed to be suffering; he averaged 25 in the Tests against England and 21 in the Tests against South Africa last year.

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