NEW DELHI — Defending champion India Thursday announced a 30-man preliminary squad for next year's World Cup, picking just four players who were part of the winning combination in 2011. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin are the only survivors from the squad that defeated Sri Lanka in the World Cup final in Mumbai. Among those dumped by the selectors were Yuvraj Singh, who was the player of the tournament in 2011, opening batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, seamer Zaheer Khan and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. The final 15-man squad will be announced next month. The World Cup is to be played in Australia and New Zealand from Feb. 14 to March 29. Probables: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Manoj Tiwary, Manish Pandey, Wriddhiman Saha, Sanju Samson, Ravichandran Ashwin, Parvez Rasool, Karn Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Ashar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Dhawal Kulkarni, Stuart Binny, Mohit Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Kuldeep Yadav and Murali Vijay. Marsh brothers in Australia squad Selectors called batsman Shaun Marsh into Australia's Test squad Thursday as cover for recovering captain Michael Clarke ahead of next week's opening Test with India. Marsh, 31, will join the original 12-man squad in Adelaide, where the rescheduled four-Test series begins against India Tuesday. Clarke and his grief-stricken teammates attended Phillip Hughes' funeral Wednesday and began assembling in Adelaide late Thursday for next week's series opener. It is not yet clear if any of the Australian squad will withdraw from the Test, with emotions still raw following Hughes' freak death last week. Hughes, who had played 26 Tests and was on the cusp of a recall, died from bleeding on the brain after being hit by a rising ball at the Sydney Cricket Ground during a domestic match on Nov. 25. Cricket Australia has reassured those selected that they can withdraw from the Test if they are having problems emotionally. Australia fast bowler Ryan Harris has declared himself a certain starter for the first Test against India. Harris wrote in a column for Fairfax Media that Wednesday's funeral in batsman Hughes' hometown of Macksville, New South Wales, had reminded him that, despite the solemn occasion, people wanted the team to play. Hughes and Marsh were the leading candidates to replace Clarke last month, when the 33-year-old skipper was set to be ruled out of the first Test while recovering from a third hamstring setback since August. Shaun Marsh joined his brother, Mitch, in the squad and is one step closer to playing together in a Test match. Shaun and Mitch, sons of 50-Test batsman Geoff, could become the first brothers to play in an Australian Test side since Mark and Steve Waugh in 2002. — Agencies
