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'Where is the room for Azhar in this side?'

Neither his silken artistry of the past 16 years, nor his recent double ton in the Ranji Trophy game against Goa, seems enough to put deposed skipper Mohammad Azharuddin back into the national reckoning.

Chairman of the selection committee Chandu Borde made it clear that there was no place for Azhar in the current team.

"Where is the place for him?" Borde responded to a question. "The boys are playing well as a team, and it is very awkward for us to change it."

"When the team is doing well, the question of discussing other names does not arise, where is the question of his entry?" Borde asked.

Mohammad azharuddin had said that he was extremely disappointed for not being considered for the tour to Australia and that he was confident of making a comeback.

The former India skipper recently told a television channel that he was pained to hear that the selection committee did not even consider his name. "It was really embarassing," he said. "I am extremely disappointed with the way things have gone. I certainly think that I deserved to get a chance. But I guess the selectors know better," he said.

Borde said he had an open mind on the question of Azhar. "I do not understand one thing," he added. "In other countries, when new faces are introduced there is always a favourable response from all quarters. You in the media here are praising other teams when they bring in new faces, but when our own committee does the same thing you criticise us."

When asked why the selection committee did not inform Azhar about his omission personally considering his decade-and-a-half's service to the Indian team, Borde said that it was the prerogative of the selectors.

Azharuddin, who scored an unbeaten double hundred for Hyderabad against Goa last week, had said in a television interview that he hoped to make lot of runs in the domestic season and added that he had worked on his batting problems.

The former skipper refuted the criticism that he stayed aloof and created a lot of misunderstandings in the team.