Former India all-rounder Roger Binny thought Dravid did the right thing by stepping down as the captain. “I think Rahul knows better than anyone else what is best for him. I would say he did the right thing. It was clear by his body language that he was not enjoying the game. You could see it on the screen. And his performance was not up to the mark. He indeed struggled in the last two series. Maybe he wants to relax and come back with a fresh approach,” said Binny.
Dravid had told BCCI President Sharad Pawar that leading the side was affecting his batting and that he wanted to concentrate on his batting.
Batting legend G R Viswanath did admit that he was surprised by Dravid’s move but added the batsman must have pondered long over the matter. “At this level no one takes decisions in haste. As he has said it (captaincy) must have been affecting his batting. I wouldn’t say he is towards the fag end of his career, but certainly he is not going to be around for too long, so I would believe he didn’t want to have that extra burden on himself at this stage of his career,” explained Viswanath.
Patel shocked
Former India Test star Brijesh Patel in fact questioned as to what was the necessity for Dravid to resign when the Bangalorean was doing a good job.
“I am surprised, actually I am shocked. Why should he do this? He has just led India to a Test series victory in England after 21 years. He has led us well in Bangladesh and even in those one-dayers at Ireland. I see no reason why he should have done this,” he stated.
Javagal Srinath, who shared both the Indian and Karnataka dressing rooms with Dravid, said he didn’t know what to say. “Honestly I have nothing to comment. What can I say? There is a surprise element in it but I just hope there are good enough reasons for him to take such a step,” he added.
Another of Dravid’s State-mates, Vijay Bharadwaj, said he couldn’t believe that Dravid has indeed resigned. “When someone called up and told me this, my first reaction was ‘you must be joking’. I have known him as a cricketer for so many years and I have never seen him back away from pressure and if he has been forced to quit the captaincy, then you can imagine the kind of pressure he has been under,” he opined.
Meanwhile, Chandu Borde, who was the team’s manager during the England tour, said, “The decision has come as a complete surprise to me, a bolt from the blue. He never discussed this even once when we were on the long tour. I don’t know why he has taken this decision.”
“He must have given it a lot of consideration. We have to respect his decision,” the former Test middle order mainstay said.
Asked if the criticism for not enforcing follow-on in the final Test at the Oval could have anything to do with Dravid’s decision, Borde said, “No, I don’t think so. It was a collective decision.”
Former Indian all-rounder Madan Lal said, “It must have been a hard decision. It surprised me because he was having a good run as captain. He has won so many matches for the team.”
“The trouble is the public pressure is such that it doesn’t allow you to settle down. Coaches and captains are always targeted when we lose,” he said.   
Former Indian captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi said Dravid’ s decision should be respected.
“If someone doesn’t want to continue, he should be allowed to do that. India has done exceptionally well this year in England under his leadership. But if he does not want to continue as captain and wants to be there only as a player, we should respect that,” he said.
Former stumper and chairman of national selectors Kiran More rated it as a personal decision of the Bangalorean. “It’s his personal decision, maybe he was not liking the weight of captaincy on his shoulder,” More said.

Dravid Sr backs his son
Bangalore, DHNS: Sharad Dravid, father of Rahul Dravid, supported his son’s decision to step down as Indian cricket team’s captain, saying he knew what he was doing.
“It is his own decision. Why should one be saddened about it. He knows what he is doing,” senior Dravid said.
He Sharad said Rahul had not discussed his plans to quit captaincy with him or any of the family members.