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New Delhi - India's cricket selectors on Monday dropped left-hand batsman Yuvraj Singh from the squad for the two Test matches against Australia starting on October 1.
The 15-man squad, described by chairperson of selectors Krish Srikkanth as one which "selected itself", restored the tried and trusted combination that has lifted India to the top of the Test rankings.
India were bolstered by the return of pace spearheads Zaheer Khan and Shanthakumar Sreesanth, star spinner Harbhajan Singh and prolific opening batsman Gautam Gambhir.
All four missed India's last Test match, against Sri Lanka at the P. Sara Oval in August, which Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men won to draw the three-match series.
Yuvraj, 28, skipped the second Test of that series due to illness, but was kept out of the decider after his replacement, Suresh Raina, hit a century on debut.
"This is the best team we could have picked, in fact it selected itself," Srikkanth told reporters after the selection committee meeting in Chennai.
"There are no surprise inclusions, and no surprise exclusions either. Weightage has been given to performance, talent and fitness."
Yuvraj, who has scored 1 639 runs in 34 Tests at 35.63, gets a chance to prove his form when he leads the Rest of India squad against Mumbai in the Irani Cup match from October 1.
Top order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who represents Saurashtra in domestic cricket, is the only new face in the squad after a string of impressive scores in first-class matches.
Pujara has scored 3 925 runs in 49 first-class matches at an average of 60.38 with an unbeaten 302 the best of his 14 centuries.
Pujara, however, is unlikely to get an immediate break in the powerful batting line-up that has Virender Sehwag, Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Venkatsai Laxman and Raina in the top six.
Australia, who arrived in India on Monday, begin the month-long tour with a three-day practice match against the Indian Board President's XI in Chandigarh from October 25.
The two Tests in Mohali (Oct 1-5) and Bangalore (Oct 9-13) will be followed by three one-day internationals in Kochi (Oct 17), Visakhapatnam (Oct 20) and Goa (Oct 24).
India squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Venkatsai Laxman, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay.
Coach: Gary Kirsten (RSA)
