RAWALPINDI, Apr 12 (Agencies) : India today dropped opener Aakash Chopra and Ajit Agarkar but a decision on who would open the innings in the series-deciding cricket Test against Pakistan was still not taken.
Announcing the playing eleven here, skipper Sourav Ganguly said, "it was a tough call to leave out Chopra.
But it is still not decided who will open the innings tomorrow, it could either be me or Yuvraj Singh." Agarkar has been replaced by left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra.
Team: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, L Balaji, Ashish Nehra.
Ganguly, returning to the side after a brief injury lay-off which saw him miss the first two Tests, said the team management had taken into account the possibility of Yuvraj opening the innings while picking the squad for the Tests.
"Obviously when we had picked Yuvraj ahead of Sadgopan Ramesh for the Tests, we had this in mind that he may have to open if necessary," the skipper said but made it clear that the Punjab left-hander was not certain to open the batting.
"It is not decided who will open," he said.
Pakistan have not named their playing eleven but captain Inzamam-ul Haq said paceman Abdur Rauf had been left out of the squad, now pruned to 16.
Toss could play a vital role in third Test: Borde MUMBAI, Apr 12 (Agencies) : Former selection committee chairman and Test star, Chandu Borde, who is back after witnessing the second Test at Lahore which Indian lost by nine wickets, today said winning the toss could be vital in the series deciding third Test against Pakistan starting at Rawalpindi tomorrow.
"Winning the toss and bowling first might have some advantage at Rawalpindi because the wicket would be similar to the one the Indians played at Lahore, which had some movements for the bowlers initially," Borde told PTI after his return from Lahore.
"The wicket at Lahore was a sporting one with some early assistnace for new ball bowlers and I think acting captain Rahul Dravid's decision to bat first was correct as noboday, particularly the Indians, did not think that the ball would swing as much as it did in the very first session", he added.
"Unfortunately for the Indians, the Pakistani seamers bowled magnificiently and pushed the Indians on their back foot from where they never recovered", Borde said.
When asked whether the umpiring in the second Test was "substandard" as he witnessed the match at close range, Borde said "I won't call the umpiring "substandard" but some of the decisions were questionable but more than that our batting let us down in both the innings and we lost to a better team".
Praising Pakistan's hospitality, Borde, said "I had a very good time meeting former greats like Fazal Mahammod, Alimuddin and Sajauddin and others and the hospitality was simply superb I hope we too can show the same hospitality when they come here next year".
Nerve-wracking contest on cards RAWALPINDI, Apr 12 (Agencies) : The Indian team's character and temperament will be tested to the hilt when they take on arch rivals Pakistan in the series-deciding third and final cricket Test staring here tomorrow, with their perennial problem of a stable opening pair still dogging them and some of the top batsmen struggling for form.
With the the three-match series tantalisingly poised at 1-1, India's quest for a historic series triumph on Pakistani soil will largely depend on their star-studded batting line up which let the team down in Lahore, allowing the hosts to level the ice-breaking series which has now gone down to the wire.
Both the teams will be under tremendous pressure as they go into what promises to be a nerve-wracking showdown on a grassy track at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, hosting the 50th Test match between the two Asian powerhouses.
The Indians are still undecided about their opening combination, a problem which has cropped up time and again, and it appears that a brand new pair will be fielded against the home team which also has its share of worries in the pace bowling department with a few key bowlers injured.
The visitors are contemplating to send the in-form Yuvraj Singh as Virender Sehwag's opening partner for the crucial match, leaving out specialist opener Aakash Chopra who failed in both the innings of the Lahore Test which India lost by nine wickets.
The left-handed Yuvraj, who replaced injured Saurav Ganguly in the team in the first two Tests, has been in good form with scores of 59, 112 and 12 which has put the team management in a selection dilemma.
With Ganguly, who sat out the first two matches with a lower back injury, returning to captain the team again, the only way to accommodate the dashing Yuvraj was to make him open the innings, a move which is unlikely to get the backing of the purists.
Yuvraj, who has opened for Punjab in only a few matches, and Sehwag are both attacking batsmen and fielding two stroke-makers as openers could be a big gamble on a lively track which is expected to provide help to the fast bowlers in the initial stages.
The team think tank, which has held discussions to sort out the opening problem, has kept all the options open till now, including persisting with Chopra who had done a decent job during the recent tour of Australia.
"It is a good problem to have, an interesting problem.
We all know that Yuvraj is very talented, his efforts have been outstanding scoring a 59 and a century in the two Tests.
But at the same time we know the importance of having a specialist opener," Indian team coach John Wright said.
"The option of continuing with the same pair is also there.
That should be considered, as they have done well as a pair.
The opening pair play a key role in the batting order, going away from the present combination will be difficult.
The openers have to play out the entire first session and see off the new ball.
Anyone can have two failures," Wright said.
The visitors may also alter their bowling attack a little bit for the decider.
While the two young pacers Irfan Pathan and L Balaji and seasoned leg spinner Anil Kumble were certainties, the third pacer's slot would be a toss-up between Ajit Agarkar and Ashish Nehra.
Left-arm seamer Nehra, who was recalled into the squad in place of injured pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, was not considered for the last match because he had not bowled enough since recovering from the split in his webbing.
Agarkar had a disappointing match as a bowler but did reasonably well with the bat in the second innings.
On the otherhand, the injuries to Lahore hero Umar Gul, who claimed a career-best five wicket haul, and Shabbir Ahmed were a big setback for Pakistan who will be desperate to maintain their track record at home against India.
The home team has included pace bowlers Rao Iftikar Anjum, Rana Naveed-ul Hasan, Fazle Akbar and Abdur Rauf in their 17-member squad and it remains to be seen who will make it to the playing eleven.
The Indian batting was a big disappointment in the Lahore Test and the batsmen will have to pull their socks up in the decider which would be played on a track designed to suit the home team bowlers.
The dependable Rahul Dravid and wrist artiste VVS Laxman have not been able to get the big scores in the series till now and both of them would be keen to end the series with more significant contributions.
Sehwag, who created history by becoming the first Indian to hit a triple century in the first Test in Multan, has been in fine nick and the Indians would be hoping for another epic knock from the flamboyant opener who is capable of tearing any bowling attack to shreds.
Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj have centuries under their belt but they need to fire when it matters most.
The Pakistani batting will mainly depend on their in-form captain Inzamam-ul Haq who has already slammed three centuries _ two in the one-day series and one in the second Test _ and the Indian bowlers will have to dismiss him early to give their team a chance.
The teams (from): India: Saurav Ganguly (capt), Virender Sehwag, Aakash Chopra, Yuvraj Singh, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, L Balaji, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Murali Kartik.
Pakistan: Inzamam-ul Haq (capt), Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Asim Kamal, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Rana Naveed-ul Hasan, Imran Nazir, Fazle Akbar, Rao iftikar Anjum, Abdur Rauf, Misbah-ul Haq.