Sachin Tendulkar retained after talks with selectors

Until Tuesday evening, the national selection committee was still undecided on Sachin Tendulkar for the 15-member Asia Cup squad. That changed only when a communication took place between the selectors and the cricketer himself and the latter informed them that he was 'available'.

By Wednesday morning, it became clear that Tendulkar would be retained and so would the rest of the squad with the exception of Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan. The committee's meeting went on longer than usual - approximately two and half hours - because of a lengthy discussion on Virender Sehwag.

In-form pacer Ashok Dinda was brought in for Zaheer Khan, who needs a break after a long tour of Australia, and the aggressive Yusuf Pathan was picked ahead of Mumbai opener Ajinkya Rahane to replace Sehwag.

Pace bowler Umesh Yadav was also given rest after the selection committee received advice on the same from the team physio.

The only other player who was on the verge of being dropped but will continue to be part of the Asia Cup squad is Suresh Raina. His partnership with Kohli on Tuesday, which saw the latter score a stunning hundred, changed the selectors' view. Chairman of selectors K Srikkanth categorically said on Wednesday that "nobody has been dropped."

Srikkanth admitted that India's victory against Sri Lanka at Hobart did change a few perspectives. The team bouncing back from the bottom to keep their hopes alive in the tri-series meant that this was the time to give the embattled cricketers another opportunity.

"We have selected the best possible team after taking into account the fitness reports. We also had a good talk with the team management," he added.

Rahane was discussed along with other names but Pathan was given the nod to add meat to the middleorder . As for Dinda, the right-arm medium pacer has been in good form in the domestic circuit and is the best possible choice available among the pacers in the fray.

Post the Asia Cup, India will not be playing an international series until June. Therefore, selectors are of the view that wholesale changes need not be made at this point of time.

Team for Asia Cup

Retained: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma and Irfan Pathan

In: Yusuf Pathan, Ashok Dinda (Fine domestic form brings the two players back into national reckoning)

Out: Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Umesh Yadav, Parthiv Patel

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