Yuvraj, Harbhajan doubtful as selectors mull changes

Another failure against England at Eden Gardens might force the selectors to make changes in the squad for the fourth Test that begins in Nagpur from December 13. The position of Yuvraj Singh at No.6 will be up for discussion as the selectors meet in Kolkata on Sunday to pick a 15-member squad for the final Test. The squad for two T20 internationals, to be played in Pune and Mumbai, also will be selected at the same meeting.

Yuvraj was included in the Test team after first making a comeback to the T20I side, but with scores of 74, 0, 8, 34 and 11 but he has not really looked the part in the Test side.

S Badrinath, Manoj Tiwary, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and even Suresh Raina are the options available for the selectors if they decide to drop Yuvraj, a source said.

According to the source, Harbhajan Singh too might get the axe. The off-spinner who played his 99th Test in Mumbai but was not considered for the third game, might be replaced with leg-spinner Amit Mishra or Piyush Chawla. In fact, the selection committee wanted to include Mishra after the second Test, but skipper MS Dhoni insisted on retaining the same squad.

With pace bowler Umesh Yadav ruled out and Ishant Sharma's performance under the scanner, R Vinay Kumar is in contention for the third seamer's slot. However, Ishant might be given one more chance to get back to form. Ishant took just one wicket in the first innings of the third Test and mostly looked ineffective.

The India team's performance in the first three Tests will also be discussed in detail during the selection committee meeting.

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