Captaincy hurt Sachin the brand

NEW DELHI: Donald Bradman could inspire the Australian teams under his charge with the sheer weight of his batting. But Sachin Tendulkar, in whom Bradman saw shades of his own batsmanship, found his batting weighed down by the chores of captaincy. Obviously, he has realised that captaincy is no longer an enjoyable business in Indian cricket. Apparently, Tendulkar has been telling his close friends he is not enjoying his cricket as captain.He spoke to coach Kapil Dev before he went to attend the selection committee meeting on Sunday and informed him about his decision to quit, thus nailing the theory that it was done in a huff after coming to know of Mohammad Azharuddin''s inclusion for the Mumbai Test. Both Tendulkar and chairman of selectors Chandu Borde denied any connection between his decision and Azhar''s selection. However, the truth is that Tendulkar had gone too far, perhaps pushed by some of his teammates and advisers, in taking a strident stand on Azhar''s return to the side. Kapil told him, ``India needs you. I appreciate your feelings and I respect your decision.'''' Asked if Azhar''s return to the side had anything to do with Tendulkar''s bombshell, the coach said he didn''t think so. ``He''s mature enough not to take such a decision on an impulse.'''' A major reason that might have hastened his exit is the falling value of Tendulkar the brand. His own performance and that of the team may have brought down his USP somewhat in the eyes of the endorsement seekers. Towards the end of the Australian tour one got the feeling that Tendulkar was not enjoying his captaincy. He was under a lot of pressure what with former Australian captains on television finding fault with his handling of affairs on the field. Tendulkar also showed a marked reluctance to address problems head-on. He was not easily forthcoming. He gave the impression that he was not cut out for the rigours of captaincy. But Kapil refuses to blame Tendulkar for the disastrous tour. ``It''s a culmination of various factors of the last six months. I have told him not to throw in the towel unless he''s disgusted with the job. As for mistakes, who hasn''t made mistakes. Sunil (Gavaskar) made mistakes, I made many and Azhar too made them, but everyone learns from them.'''' So, who should take over from him? Tendulkar''s own choice is Ajay Jadeja or Saurav Ganguly, whereas Australian captain Steve Waugh feels it could also be Rahul Dravid. Ganguly as deputy played his cards well besides making his bat talk on the Australian tour, but is he a model cricketer? Who knows, captaincy might change his approach to certain aspects of the game and team management. Jadeja has to command a place in the eleven first, while Dravid has to find where his offstump is. Unlike in Australia''s case during Mark Taylor''s time, you cannot have different captains for Tests and one-dayers. For instance, if Ganguly is made captain for the Tests, he cannot be asked to play under Jadeja in the one-dayers. Form points to Ganguly, while Dravid may be more acceptable to all concerned for reasons that placed Azhar in the hot seat. As former coach Anshuman Gaekwad mentioned in his World Cup report, at least two of them had been working overtime to land the job. But the board has its own parameters for picking its own right man.