PTI

• 'There is a shelf life to captaincy in India'

Bangalore, Sep 17: Breaking his silence over his surprise resignation as India's cricket captain, Rahul Dravid said on Monday that he was not enjoying the job after two years because 'there is a shelf life to captaincy in India'.

The 34-year-old batsman, who has not said a word in public since his resignation was announced by the BCCI on Friday, said that captaincy 'takes a lot out of you'.

The thought of stepping down had crossed his mind after India's early exit from the World Cup in the West Indies for which he felt responsible, Dravid said, adding, 'but I still felt that I had the strength and energy to do it then' in the hope that things could be turned around.

However, towards the end of the ODI series against England which ended this month, he had begun considering resigning.

"But I did not want to take any decision there without first speaking to my family and wanted to give it a few days back home to see if I felt differently before taking a final call", he said.

The decision was "personal and based on my observation of whether I would be able to give it my very best like I have always tried to", Dravid said.
     
The former Indian skipper was of the view that 'there is a shelf life to captaincy in India in which you can give it your best".

"Maybe the shelf life is becoming shorter as time goes by", he commented.

Dravid, who characteristically chose his words with great caution, refused to comment on the issue of his successor when asked if Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whose names were being mentioned, would be able to handle the job.