NAGPUR, India, 31 October 2004 — Wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel and batsman Yuvraj Singh were among four players dropped from the Indian squad for the fourth and final Test against Australia starting in Bombay on Wednesday.
Opening batsman Aakash Chopra and seamer Ajit Agarkar were also axed after Australia crushed India by 342 runs in the third Test in Nagpur on Friday to clinch their first series victory in India for 35 years by going 2-0 up.
Patel, who has struggled behind the stumps this series, was replaced by Dinesh Karthik, who kept wicket in September’s ICC Champions Trophy in England.
Three other uncapped players, opening batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Dheeraj Jadhav and swing bowler Shib Shankar Paul, were also included.
Indian board secretary Karunakaran Nair said captain Saurav Ganguly, who missed the Nagpur Test because of a groin injury, would have a fitness test tomorrow and could be brought in as the 15th member of the squad.
Dravid will again captain the side if Ganguly is left out.
Left-arm paceman Irfan Pathan, who was sorely missed on a green wicket offering sharp seam movement in Nagpur, is ruled out with a side strain.
“We’d hoped Pathan would be fit but medical reports showed he still needed some rest,” Nair told reporters yesterday.
“We’ve had a good report about Shib Shankar Paul and we gave him a chance to fill the gap once Agarkar was dropped.”
The Indian batting collapsed in Nagpur, producing totals of just 185 and 200 in the two innings, but the only casualty among the specialist batsmen who played in that Test was opener Chopra.
Nair added, however, that the selectors had deliberated at length on Vangipurappu Laxman’s place in the team.
“Considering Laxman’s past record, we thought we should give him another chance,” he said.
Laxman was responsible for leading India to 2-1 comeback series victory over Australia in 2001, hitting a masterly 281 in Calcutta where the hosts won after being asked to follow-on.
However, he has had a bad run with the bat since the tour of Australia earlier this year.
India squad: Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Kaif, Vangipurappu Laxman, Dheeraj Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, Shib Shankar Paul, Ashish Nehra.
