Throwing the Australian tour into disarray, the visitors’ team management on Monday axed four players from its Test squad for not doing their homework on how to tackle India.
Vice-captain Shane Watson, pacers Mitchell Johnson and James Pattinson and batsman Usman Khawaja were dropped
ahead of the third Test, which starts in Mohali on Thursday.
The move turned into a full-blown crisis for Australia as Watson effectively abandoned the tour after dubbing the decision “very harsh” and saying he would reconsider his Test future. It also raised questions about skipper Michael Clarke’s leadership as Australia try to recover from back-to-back thrashings in Chennai and Hyderabad.
The four Aussies were penalised for not submitting individual assessments, which required them to suggest the way forward for the team.