Dravid will now look to concentrate on his batting

Dravid sent a letter to Board of Control president Sharad Pawar saying he wanted to give up the job.

The 34-year-old opted out of the current ICC World Twenty20 tournament in South Africa, but his resignation still came out of the blue.

"I enjoyed the captaincy, I loved it, but it can get tough after a while and some of the enjoyment can go away," Dravid told the BBC.

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He has had a mixed record since taking over as skipper in October 2005, with highs like Test series wins in West Indies and, most recently, England balanced against lows like their first-round exit from the World Cup earlier this year.

In all, Dravid captained India in 25 Tests - winning eight, losing six and drawing 11 - and 79 one-day internationals, but has now decided enough is enough.

"In the last few days, he has told me the captaincy was affecting his game. He said he can't handle both responsibilities.

"He would like to continue to play and also give full spport to whoever takes the responsibility to lead the team. I think we should respect his wishes and we have accepted his resignation," Pawar told reporters.

"Every captain has his prerogatives. I think he was feeling the burden," BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla added.

The board faces a difficult choice over who should captain the team in forthcoming series against Australia and Pakistan, while at the same time continuing their search for a new head coach, but they hope to name a replacement for Dravid next week.

Dravid celebrates a historic victory in the West Indies last year

They could turn again to Ganguly, who lost the job after falling out with former coach Greg Chappell, or fellow veteran batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

Or they could decide to seek a younger leader like wicket-keeper Mahendra Dhoni, who is leading the team in South Africa, or Yuvraj Singh.

"It will be a big problem to choose Dravid's successor now. VVS Laxman could be a ideal choice for a stop-gap captain," said former spin bowler Erapalli Prasanna.

Chandresh Narayanan, chief cricket correspondent of the Times of India, told the BBC: "It's really a tricky situation.

"There is a school of thought that maybe India should have two captains - one for the one-dayers and one for the Test matches. I guess the selectors are between a rock and a hard place."

Dravid's main focus now will be on his batting.

He has scored 9,492 runs in 112 Tests at an average of 56.5, a total only bettered by Brian Lara, Allan Border, Tendulkar, Steve Waugh and Sunil Gavaskar, and 10,534 in 327 limited overs internationals.

But despite his satisfaction at the team's performance in the Tests against England earlier this summer, his own form was a worry as he mustered only 126 runs in the three Tests at an average of 25.