The selectors seem to have finally run out of patience with Yuvraj Singh, axing him from the 15-man squad that will take part in the four-nation Asia Cup starting on June 15 in Sri Lanka.
The southpaw has been forced to concede his ODI spot to Saurabh Tiwary. The Jharkhand lad gets his maiden call-up to the team that is far stronger than the side that failed to qualify for the tri-series final in Zimbabwe.
Most of the seniors make a return after a break — Mahendra Singh Dhoni is back to lead the side with Virender Sehwag as his deputy, the latter having sufficiently recovered from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the World T20 championships.
Sehwag is joined by Gautam Gambhir at the top of the order, while the bowling attack is bolstered by the return of Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar.
Sachin Tendullkar, has however, opted out again. The Master has not played for India since February 24, when he hit an unprecedented double-century in a one-dayer against South Africa in Gwalior, though he turned out for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League in March, before being rested for a tri-series in Zimbabwe also featuring Sri Lanka.
“Tendulkar requested the board not to consider him for the Asia Cup as he wanted to spend time with his children in view of the hectic cricket season ahead,” BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan said in a statement.
From the team that played in Zimbabwe, all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik and leggie Amit Mishra have been shown the door, though Bengal pacer Ashok Dinda retained his place, along with slow left-armer Pragyan Ojha and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
Alarm sounded to Yuvraj
Yuvraj’s omission, despite him not being dropped from the team in the last four years, was on expected lines. In five ODIs this year, Yuvraj has managed only 96 runs, 74 of them coming in one match against Sri Lanka in Dhaka, though the tipping point for the senior selection committee led by Kris Srikkanth was his fitness.
Fingers were first pointed in a meeting between the top board officials and the selectors on May 17 following India’s exit at T20 Worlds. where Yuvraj had not only misfired with the bat, but was also seen positioned in the deep in India games as against his usual fielding position at point.
Yuvraj has spent the last fortnight at the NCA in Bengaluru, and his Twitter page has been positively buzzing these days with detailed updates of his fitness. But Srikkanth on the day gave ample indications that the cricket chiefs aren’t happy.
“This is the best possible side...I’m not going to speak about any individual player,” Srikkanth told reporters, pre-empting questions on Yuvraj’s exclusion.
Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, R Ashwin, Saurabh Tiwary