31 October 2004	Sunday	16 Ramazan 1425

NAGPUR, Oct 30: Indian selectors Saturday made a host of changes for the fourth and final Test against Australia after an ignominous defeat in the third Test here.

Opener Akash Chopra and wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel were the prime casualties a day after India went down by a massive 342 runs to concede a 2-0 lead for their first home series loss to the Aussies in 35 years.

Left-hander Yuvraj Singh and seamer Ajit Agarkar were the others to be dropped for the match, which commences in Bombay on November 3.

"The selectors had long deliberations considering both form and fitness of players and felt others needed to be given chances," said board secretary Karunakaran Nair.

Pace bowler Irfan Pathan, who missed the Nagpur Test because of a side strain, was ruled out while captain Sourav Ganguly's inclusion was subject to his passing a fitness test on November 1.

The new names in the squad were left-handed openers Gautam Gambhir and Dheeraj Jadhav, wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik and paceman Shib Paul.

Delhi batsman Gambhir and Tamil Nadu gloveman Karthik have played one-day internationals for India but made it to the Test squad for the first time.

There was no surprise in the exclusion of Chopra, who scored just 15 runs in four innings during the ongoing series, and an off-colour Patel.

"Parthiv's performance was under scrutiny and the selectors persisted with him seeing his record and useful efforts with the bat. But he did not live up to expectations," Nair said.

Yuvraj, a prominent one-day player who has struggled to cement a place in the Test team, too was dumped but Venkatsai Laxman was spared the axe despite aggregating just 53 runs in five innings.

"It was felt that Laxman needed to be given more time as he has a proven record," said Nair about the wristy batsman, whose epic 281 at Calcutta in 2001 was instrumental in a dramatic series win over Australia.

Jadhav, who plays for the western state of Maharashtra, and Bengal seamer Paul have been included after consistent efforts in domestic matches as well as for India A.

"There have been favourable reports about their performances and commitment and the selectors felt it was the right time to include them in the team," said Nair.

South Africa tour India for a two-Test series next month.

The squad: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid (vice-captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Venkatsai Laxman, Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Dheeraj Jadhav, Anil Kumble, HarbhajanSingh, Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Shib Paul.-AFP