SYDNEY: Australia's woes in India got worse as a tussle between the team management and players emerged on Sunday.
Vice-captain Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Usman Khwaja and Mitchell Johnson were declared ineligible for selection for the third Test in Mohali, starting on Thursday, after coach Mickey Arthur said the four had failed to complete a task set for them.
Trailing 2-0 in the Test series, the team were asked to list down points on how their performances could be improved on Tuesday last week and were supposed to finish it by Saturday but four players did not submit their points.
The management then held a meeting with captain Michael Clarke and decided to axe the four players from the upcoming Test.
"We have given a vision to these guys that is spelt out, we’ve given an expectation that is spelt out and although this incident might seem very small in isolation, this is a line in the sand moment for us as a unit in our quest to become the best in the world," Arthur said.
Watson left India on Monday after the incident, however, Cricket Australia clarified that he was leaving as his wife was expecting a baby in Australia.
