Kolkata, Nov 17: Middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh was today dropped with Rohit Sharma replacing him in India's squad for the third and final cricket Test against West Indies beginning in Mumbai from November 22.
Sharma was rewarded for his consistent performance in domestic circuit with the selectors drafting him in place of the Punjab batsman who could manage only 66 runs in the three innings he played against the West Indies.
With spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha doing well, Harbhajan Singh was again overlooked for a place in the squad, which barring Yuvraj's exclusion, remained the same.
Yuvraj scored 23 and 18 in the first Test at Feroz Shah Kotla while he could manage only 25 on a batting paradise at the Eden Gardens. The exclusion could well mean curtains for the soon-to-be 30 southpaw who had won the Player of the Tournament award in the last World Cup.
Rohit on the otherhand has been rewarded for his back to back centuries against Railways and Rajasthan. While the elegant batsman scored 175 on a turner at the Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi, he smashed a quickfire 100 against Rajasthan in the last Ranji Trophy match.
Rohit was unlucky when he missed out on a Test cap after a freak injury while playing football at the VCA ground in Jamtha only an hour before the Test match against South Africa would have begun.
With the No 6 slot vacant, it will be a tussle between Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit to grab that spot vacated by Yuvraj.
Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Sharma, Varun Aaron.
