Mumbai: National selectors on Wednesday wielded the axe mercilessly, showing the exit door to three under-performing all-rounders after having a serious discussion with coach Duncan Fletcher before announcing the squad for the Sri Lanka tour.
The five-member selection panel headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth omitted Pathan brothers Yusuf and Irfan along with out-of-form Ravindra Jadeja from the 15-man squad.
Tendulkar unavailable
Sachin Tendulkar has made himself unavailable for the short series of five ODIs and a lone T20 game against the hosts commencing July 21, while medium pacer Praveen Kumar is another player who was dropped.
All four dropped players were part of India’s unsuccessful Asia Cup campaign in Bangladesh in March, where India failed to reach the final.
Srikkanth, talking to reporters later, said the five selectors held a long discussion over the happenings in the last season that saw India being humbled 4-0 in England and Australia in the Tests and also failing to live up to the one-day world champions’ tag in the two countries as well as in the Asia Cup that followed in Dhaka.
“One good thing is that we had Indian cricket team coach Duncan Fletcher with us. We had a lot of discussions about the pros and cons, about what happened.
“It was a very healthy discussion with Duncan Fletcher. We wanted to sort out everything and make sure this season starts with a bang,” he explained.
Left unsaid was the controversy over the rotation policy practised for seniors during the Australian tour which saw captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his senior team mates Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir singing different tunes over its introduction.
Dhoni did not attend the meeting and, according to sources, is in the US.
Srikkanth expressed confidence that the Indian team would put behind its ordeal in England, Australia and Bangladesh and return to winning ways with a bang during the season-opening tour of Sri Lanka.
“We are looking forward to this particular season. Being the first tour of the season, we really wanted the best possible team. Of course, Sachin Tendulkar is not available. He’s starting off from the New Zealand series. So, we have selected the best available team based on the performance,” said Srikkanth.
“I think it is a very good side. Don’t forget, we have a strong batting line up and good bowlers…(like) Zaheer Khan… We are confident of doing very well in Sri Lanka,” he declared.
Srikkanth made reference to the long upcoming season, including the World T20, hosting New Zealand and then England, but was confident about the team.
Tendulkar has been replaced by young Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane while left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and Yadav have replaced the out-of-form Jadeja and Praveen Kumar respectively.
There is still no place for senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who endured indifferent form during the IPL and has now signed up with English county side Essex, as the selectors continued to ignore him while leggie Rahul Sahrma was retained in the side. The team will thus have three spinners to suit their bowling options on Lanka tracks that offer turn.
The team will also have seven specialist batsmen, four seamers and a wicket-keeper in captain Dhoni.
Yuvraj’s comeback
Although not part of the squad, Srikkanth praised the fighting spirit shown by Yuvraj Singh after undergoing treatment for a rare germ cell cancer and said the attacking batsman deserved to make a his national comeback.
“Yuvraj Singh has started his net practice at the NCA (National Cricket Academy) which is very good news for all of us. I think a guy who has won the World Cup for us deserves to come back and I am sure he will come back I think he has got the fighting spirit to make a comeback,” said Srikkanth.
Yuvraj won the man of the tournament award for his stunning all round display in the 2011 World Cup before his career was interrupted when he was detected with a malignant tumour between the lungs for which he underwent chemotherapy in the US.
Srikkanth said everyone was hoping fervently that the left-handed batting powerhouse will return to the team for the World T20 in Sri Lanka.
“We are all hoping and keeping our fingers crossed and, by God’s grace, we want Yuvraj back for the Twenty20 World Cup,” said the chief selector.
Srikkanth also praised Yuvraj’s positive approach in overcoming cancer and resuming practice at the earliest opportunity.
The squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virat Kohli (vice-captain), Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda, Suresh Raina, Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma. (PTI)