OUT-OF-FORM opener Virender Sehwag was on Thursday (March 7) was dropped from the Indian cricket squad for the third and fourth Test against Australia.
The squad was trimmed to 14 with the selectors deciding against picking a replacement for Sehwag, who has scored just 27 runs in his three innings during the ongoing series.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has also been struggling to regain his peak form, was, however, retained in the squad announced by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Sanjay Jagdale.
Barring the 34-year-old Sehwag’s sacking, there were no other changes in the squad for the two matches to be played in Mohali (from March 14) and Delhi (from March 22) respectively.
Indialead the four-match series 2-0 after thumping wins in Chennai and Hyderabad.
Sehwag’s omission comes after his long-time opening batsman Gautam Gambhir was shown the door, also due to poor form.
Sehwag had failed to fire in five consecutive Tests after getting a hundred in the opening game of the home series against England at Ahmedabad in November-December last year.
He was unable to score even a half-century in two home Tests against New Zealand. During India’s last overseas tour, in Australia, Sehwag scored just 198 runs in eight innings.
The rest of the line-up was expectedly retained on the basis of impressive performances.
