Dravid 'rested'

Rahul Dravid has been left out of the Indian one-day team - for only the second time in his career - in the seventh ODI against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He has been replaced by Dinesh Karthik for the dead rubber.

At the toss Mahendra Singh Dhoni said Dravid was "rested" but the Board of Control for Cricket in India did not make an official announcement regarding the same.

Since 1996, when Dravid made his debut, he has only been dropped once, in 1997, when he was struggling to come to grips with the one-day game. He missed eight matches in 1997 and 26 games in 1998. Subsequently, since making his comeback he has played over 300 matches, contributing consistently.

In the recent past, however, barring a sublime 92 against England at Bristol, Dravid has struggled. He has made just 51 runs from five innings in this series, at an average of only 10.20, with a highest of 31. Dravid has faced only 80 balls in all, batting in different positions and has twice been dismissed without scoring.

Dravid gave up the captaincy of the Test and ODI teams just before the start of this series, and the BCCI appointed Mahendra Singh Dhoni the ODI captain. The selectors are yet to appoint a Test captain.