Breaking tradition,Dhoni,Fletcher left out of selection meeting

Skipper Dhoni was not consulted when the team for the tri-series in Australia and T20s was picked.

In a break from tradition,India skipper M S Dhoni was not consulted when the team for the tri-series in Australia and the two Twenty20 Internationals was picked in Chennai on Sunday the day on which the Test team succumbed to their seventh away loss in a row. India coach Duncan Fletcher was also not part of the decision-making process.

It is reliably gathered that the leadership issue was also discussed at the Sunday meeting in Chennai but eventually the selectors agreed that they didnt have any other option but to retain Dhoni as skipper as Virender Sehwag,his deputy,isnt scoring runs.

During an overseas tour,the coach and the captain are linked up with the selectors via a teleconference when a team is selected. One of the selectors,Narendra Hirwani,is in Perth and The Indian Express has learnt that the former leg-spinner was consulted by Krishnamachari Srikkanth,the chief national selector. However,the two top men in the Indian team management Dhoni and Fletcher didnt have a say in the meeting,a top Board of Control for Cricket in India official said on Monday.

Indian team media manager G S Walia,currently in Perth,confirmed that there was no teleconference between the selectors and team management.

Former chief selector Kiran More said it was surprising that neither Dhoni nor Fletcher was consulted. During my time,I always used to speak to the captain before a meeting. When the team was playing abroad,we used to call the captain and coach for their inputs and suggestions after making an initial list. The official announcement used to be made only after consulting the team management. This is very unusual, More said.

Asked about the matter,BCCI president N Srinivasan said he wasnt present at the meeting. In any case,we dont discuss selection matters, he said.

Sehwag will,however,lead the team in the fourth Test in Adelaide as Dhoni has been slapped with a one-match ban for slow over-rate by the International Cricket Council. This is his second such offence in a year.