India drop Ganguly for Australia tri series

Sunday January 20, 04:20 PM

MUMBAI, India (Reuters) - Indian selectors have dropped experienced batsman Saurav Ganguly for next month's triangular series in Australia, which also includes Sri Lanka.

Rahul Dravid was also left out as selectors opted for youth in a 16-man squad on Sunday, with left-handed batsman Suresh Raina earning a recall after a year out of the team following some fine domestic performances.

The same squad will play in the sole Twenty20 international against Australia on Feb. 1 before the one-day series.

"Looking towards the future team of India the selection committee has provided the youngsters who have done well in domestic cricket an excellent platform," India board (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah said in a statement.

The 35-year-old Ganguly has performed well after he was dropped from the one-day and test sides in the wake of a public spat with then coach Greg Chappell two years ago that led to the batsman losing the captaincy.

However, the selectors decided to revamp the one-day squad following the team's first round exit in the one-day World Cup and a surprise victory by a young squad captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Twenty20 version last year.

Former captain Dravid was the first to feel the heat of the shake-up late last year.

Fast bowler Ishant Sharma earned a recall on the basis of his impressive performances in the ongoing test series while Shanthakumaran Sreesanth returns after an injury break to bolster the pace attack that includes all-rounder Pravin Kumar.

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