Though Lele was at pains to point out that he was not holding Azhar's brief, he recited several reasons why ``the most successful Indian captain should not be axed from the team'', during his prolonged talk with The Indian Express here this afternoon.

Regarding the captain, Lele said it was the selectors' job to find a right choice for the crucial post. He hinted that other than Sachin Tendulkar and Azharuddin, the suitability of Ajay Jadeja, Saurav Ganguly and Anil Kumble would also be discussed for the covetedassignment.

Lele informed that he had met Azhar in Mumbai on Monday night. ``I'm well aware of his fitness status. Though he's not fit now, I hope he'll be in good shape very soon,'' Lele said, adding that the Mumbai-based batsman was to consult noted orthopaedic surgeon Dr Anant Joshi in a couple of days.

``Azhar has scored the highest runs in one-dayers and he has played the highest number of ODIs too. I think he is still consistent,'' said the board secretary. He also admitted that Azhar did not live upto expectations in the World Cup and attributed the player's failure to one of the bad patches that punctuate a batsman's extensive career.

`GANGULY, ROBIN WERE MISQUOTED'

Lele said the board has received letters from Robin Singh and Saurav Ganguly, who say that they were ``misquoted by the media''. Ganguly has not authored any column in a Bengali newspaper, Lele informed, adding that the newspaper which published Ganguly's statement had also supported the Bengal player's stand.

Lele saidhe had heard the `Robin Singh tapes' in Mumbai. ``There is not a single word uttered by Robin which was reported in the press next day,'' he asserted. Lele said the players' replies were satisfactory and the BCCI would discuss the issue at its forthcoming executive meeting.