Dhoni to lead India

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been handed the captaincy

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named captain of India’s one-day side for the home series against Australia.

Dhoni succeeds Rahul Dravid, who surprisingly stepped down from the role, and that of Test captain, last week.

Wicket-keeper Dhoni is currently leading the side at the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa.

India take on Australia in a seven-match one-day series starting on September 29, and a solitary Twenty20 international.

India’s chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar denied suggestions the role had been offered to Sachin Tendulkar before 26-year-old Dhoni.

He said: “We did not offer the captaincy to anyone else.

“Dhoni is young and will adapt well to the ODIs. He will be captain for the next 12 one-dayers.

“We did not expect Dravid to step down from the captaincy.”

After confirming Dhoni as skipper, Vengsarkar also named the squad for the first three matches of the five-match series against the Aussies.

Virender Sehwag is the most notable absentee while there are recalls for Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh.

India squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Y Singh, S Ganguly, S Tendulkar, R Dravid, D Kartik, G Gambhir, R Uthappa, I Pathan, R Powar, P Chawla, RP Singh, Z Khan, S Sreesanth, H Singh