Kolkata, Dec 9 (IANS): Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh have been dropped from the Indian team for the fourth cricket Test against England after the hosts lost at the Eden Gardens here today.
The selectors picked Delhi pacer Parwinder Awana, leggie Piyush Chawla and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as replacements for the senior trio after India lost the Eden Test by seven wickets to go 1-2 down in the four-match series. The fourth Test starts in Nagpur on December 13.
Squad: MS Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Murali Vijay, Parvinder Awana.
Selectors can decide if I should be captain: Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni said today that it is for the selectors to decide whether he should continue to lead India or not, after his team lost the third Test to England here.
"As a leader the challenge has been thrown to me. The easier thing for me now is to say I quit captaincy and be only a part of the side," Dhoni told the media after English beat India by seven wickets. "That will be running away from the responsibility, though there is BCCI (Board of Cricket for Control in India) to decide ... For me the responsibility is to get the team together and be ready for the next match," he added.
Dhoni said it was a challenge to lead a side when the chips were down. "It is always good to lead a side when the side is performing and you are winning. You do not need a leader then ... When the team is not doing well, you need the team to gel together, back the players and try to move in the direct direction.
"The selectors are here to decide," was Dhoni's reply when asked if he was still the right man to lead the team.
He refused to blame coach Duncan Fletcher and attributed the batting failure for India's dismal performance in the series. "You cannot question the coach. We have done well under him. He has excellent technical knowledge but once we cross the rope we are on our own. We should not really look into excuses and try not to play the blame game and put it on the coach. Ultimately what matters is how the 11 players perform in the middle."
