Stepping down was Dravid's own decision: Father

Bangalore, Sep 14 (UNI) Rahul Dravid's father today said the decision taken by his son to quit as Team India Captain was his own and there was no pressure from the family.

The Indian cricket captain's decision to step down as captain that came like a bolt from the blue had shocked the cricket fraternity and fan's alike.

"It was his own decision, I have no comments", said Ramesh Dravid, father of Rahul said.

Reacting to media person on Dravid's decision to quit skipper post outside his house in posh Indiranagar here, Mr Ramesh said that "I am not a cricketer to comment, it was his own decision." Replying to a question, he said that Rahul did not discuss the matter with family and there was no family pressure to take such decision.

To another question, he said that "why should I be saddened or feel happy. He has taken a decision on his own".

Earlier, Ramesh and his wife brought a Ganapathy idol which is kept in homes in this state and family members perform puja as part of Ganesha Chaturthi tomorrow.

A big number of Dravid fans thronged his residence in Indiranagar soon after the news about his resignation as skipper spread. There was a traffic jam in the area for a brief period. Police quickly provided security to the family.

Former Test cricketer and Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Honorary Secretary Brijesh Patel expressing his shock over Rahul's decision to quit Captaincy, said that "Rahul's decision was shocking for me, it is a surprise and there was no reason why he wanted to be relieved of Captaincy despite registering Test series victory against England after a gap of 22 years".

Test discard Vijay Bhardwaj, who had played with Dravid, said that "there may be some other reason for him to take the decision.

He had not given any hint to this effect at any moment".

There was however a mixed reaction from Dravid's fans who had thronged in front of his residence. Some were of the opinion that Dravid should have taken this decision before World Cup in which Team India suffered a humiliating ouster in the preliminary round itself. However, there were fans who supported the decision of 'the Wall' saying that it would give more time to concentrate on batting.

UNI