A despondent Yuvraj Singh returns to the pavilion after being run out for 12 during the fourth ODI against Australia in Mohali. India, at that time, were on 113 and his dismissal was the turning point of Monday’s match

New Delhi: At the end of it all, no change may have been effected, but the national selectors retained the Team India XV for the last three ODIs against Australia, in Mohali on Monday, assuming that the target of 251 would be achieved at the PCA Stadium there.

According to The Telegraph’ssources, Krishnamachari Srikkanth and his colleagues (Yashpal Sharma, Narendra Hirwani, Surendra Bhave, Raja Venkat) met “informally” during the break between innings and decided “not to disturb” a combination which was actually on course to take a 3-1 lead.

They got stumped, though.

“At that stage, it was taken for granted that the target would be reached and the lead extended... Nobody expected Team India to throw it all away... In any case, the selectors had consulted the captain (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) before the match got under way,” one source pointed out.

Not that the eventual result, a 24-run win for Australia, could really have made much of a difference.

“Look, our bench strength is just not there... Even if the selectors had waited till the end, I don’t think they would have sprung a surprise... Frankly, the cupboard is pretty bare,” another source said.

Surely, it’s time for the alarm bells to ring. But, then, those in the XV shouldn’t be taking their places for granted.

As many as three youngsters — Virat Kohli (at No.3), Suresh Raina (No.6) and Ravindra Jadeja (No.7) — had the chance to become a hero, in Mohali, but failed to make an impression.

It’s time, perhaps, to blood a Manish Pandey. The youngster made headlines in the closing stages of this year’s IPL, in South Africa, and has begun the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy with a big hundred for Karnataka.

Getting a Pandey into the XV would, among other things, serve as a wake-up call to those who’re happy contributing little or almost nothing at all.

The fifth ODI, meanwhile, will be played in Hyderabad on Thursday.