Sachin Tendulkar was rested while a struggling Yuvraj Singh was dropped from India's 15-member squad for this month's Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.
Tendulkar had sought a break to spend time with his children, while Yuvraj's ouster was on the cards after a series of disappointing performances in recent times.Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, all-rounder Yusuf Pathan and leg-spinner Amit Mishra were also axed while flamboyant opener Virender Sehwag returned to the squad announced by BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan after a meeting of the selection committee here.
"Sachin 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," Srinivasan said in a statement after the meeting.
20-year-old Jharkhand batsman Saurabh Tiwary, who was impressive in the third edition of the Indian Premier League, was rewarded with a berth in the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led squad along with Bengal pacer Ashok Dinda.
The national selectors, who had opted to rest most of the seniors for the tri-series in Zimbabwe, chose a full-strength team which included seniors like pacer Zaheer Khan, opener Gautam Gambhir and spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh.
Tamil Nadu off-spinner R Ashwin, who is also a decent batsman, has been retained in the squad. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha returned to the team at the expense of leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who failed to make much of an impact in the disastrous tour of Zimbabwe.
The team in Zimbabwe, which was led by Suresh Raina, couldn't make the finals of the tri-series and suffered consecutive humiliating losses to the African minnows.
Although Raina has retained his place, other flops like Yusuf and Mishra have been shown the door.
The 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.
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