Under Tendulkar, India won just three Tests in 17 and 17 of 54 one-day games, but his place in the team, as one of the world's best batsmen, is not in doubt.

Ramakant Desai, chairman of selectors, said in Bombay: ``We removed Tendulkar because he could not take the pressure of both batting and captaincy. This is a good decision for India and we are confident that Azhar will be able to lead the team well.''

Azharuddin was India's most successful captain to date before he had to stand down in 1996 after a mediocre tour of England, in which the Test and one-day series were lost.

Desai said the decision to bring back Azharuddin, who led India to 13 Test wins, should not come as a surprise. ``Azhar was removed in 1996 because he was going through a difficult phase in his personal life,'' he said. ``He needed to be rested.''

Azharuddin, 34, will lead the team in next week's limited-overs tournament against Pakistan and Bangladesh in Dhaka, and in the home Tests against Australia and a three-nation one-day series also involving Zimbabwe.