Agency report

Dhoni and Yuvraj

Mumbai, Aug 7: Mahendra Dhoni was Tuesday appointed captain of the Indian team for the Twenty-20 World Cup, to be played in South Africa in September.

Dhoni, the vice captain of the Indian team currently touring England, was elevated to lead the team for the inaugural Twenty-20 World Cup in the absence of three star players — Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly — who have all led India but dropped out of the Twenty-20 tournament.

The squads for the Twenty-20 World Cup and the seven-match limited-overs series in England were picked after four selectors had a teleconference with chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, who is currently in England with the Indian team.

An aggressive batsman and wicketkeeper, Dhoni, 26, is viewed as a long-term candidate for Indian captaincy after being made Dravid's deputy for the current tour of England.

Left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh was named Dhoni's deputy for the Twenty-20 World Cup.

Niranjan Shah, secretary of the Indian cricket board, said the Twenty-20 World Cup squad includes opening batsman Virender Sehwag, all-rounder Irfan Pathan and offspinner Harbhajan Singh. They were regular members of the Indian teams for several years until poor form saw them being dropped for the England tour.

The selectors also decided to replace out-of-form pace bowler Shantakumaran Sreesanth with Munaf Patel for the limited-overs series against England.

Patel's inclusion was the only change in the one-day squad that played limited-overs internationals in Ireland against South Africa and Ireland during June-July.

Sreesanth was included in the team for the Twenty-20 World Cup. The selectors decided to rest ace pacer Zaheer Khan from this tournament and included rookie Yusuf Pathan, who is Irfan Pathan's brother.