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Indian stars opt out of Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa

India will have a new captain for the inaugural Twenty20 cricket World Cup in South Africa after batting stars Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly opted out of the tournament, selectors announced in Mumbai yesterday.

"I think they wanted to give a chance to youngsters. I got a call from [captain] Rahul who said they were opting out of the tournament," chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said after India named a 30-man preliminary squad.

The trio are currently in England for the Test and one-day series. The three batsmen informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of their decision ahead of a meeting to select the 30 probables for the tournament, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told reporters, Press Trust of India reported. Each of the trio has scored more than 10,000 runs in one-day internationals. The final 15-man squad for September's tournament will be announced by August 7.

Batsman Virender Sehwag and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were named in the 30-man squad after being ignored for the England tour.
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