Sehwag, Zaheer rested; Tendulkar in Asia Cup squad

Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar was included in India's 15-member squad for the Asia Cup tournament in Bangladesh next month, but the struggling Virender Sehwag was rested.

Virat Kohli has been named vice-captain ahead of Gautam Gambhir for the four-nation tournament, to be played in Dhaka, from March 11 to 22.

Pacers Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav have also given a break for the tournament, that also involves hosts Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

"Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav have been rested on fitness grounds," read a statement from the BCCI.

Chairman of selectors Krishnamachri Srikkanth, speaking to reporters later in Mumbai, also confirmed that Sehwag and Zaheer were rested on fitness grounds.

"Zaheer and Sehwag have been asked to take rest by physio on injury grounds. Both have been rested purely on fitness ground. There is a medical report from the physio which came to the Board and we are going by the report."

Despite India's poor showing in Australia, Srikkanth clarified that no player has been dropped.

"Nothing to speculate about. I can assure you 500 per cent that nobody has been dropped."

Yusuf Pathan and Ashok Dinda made their comebacks into the Indian squad after good performances in domestic cricket.

Pathan showed good form with the bat in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, a domestic limited-overs tournament. The Baroda all-rounder has scored 172 runs in four matches, at an average of 57.33, with a highest of 114.

Regarding the appointment of Kohli as vice-captain, Srikkanth said: "We have to start looking forward towards the future. Probably the selection committe and the Board feels that Virat is good captaincy material for the future; that is why it was decided that he should be made vice-captain."

Sehwag failed to get going in the ongoing tri-series in Australia, scoring just 65 runs in five ODIs, at an average of 13.

Tendulkar, stuck on 99 international centuries for nearly a year now, also struggled Down Under with a tally of 143 runs in seven matches.

Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain),Virat Kohli (vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda.