Indian stars warned over future

Sehwag made 89 runs from six Test innings in South Africa

India's cricket board has urged its selectors to get tough with struggling senior players in the wake of the Test series defeat in South Africa.

India took a 1-0 lead in the series but lost 2-1 after sub-par performances from several experienced batsmen.

The Proteas also won the one-day series 4-0 as India only reached a tally of more than 200 runs once.

"The board is definitely concerned by the performance, but it will not interfere," said cricket bosses.

Niranjan Shah, secretary for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), added: "It is up to the selection committee to review things.

"But they should not go only by the history of some players. Consistent performance is important."

Indian media and experts have rounded on batsman Virender Sehwag, who made just 89 runs from six Test innings.

The 28-year-old Delhi batsman was also poor in the one-dayers, raising the possibility of him being left out of the upcoming home one-day series against West Indies and Sri Lanka.

Skipper Rahul Dravid also failed to get a fifty in the Test series, while the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar for just 14 sparked the batting collapse on day four that led to the final Test defeat.

Selectors meet on Friday to pick the 30 probables for the World Cup and the squad for the series with West Indies starting on 21 January.

India's poor one-day form has also raised concerns in the build-up to the World Cup, starting on 13 March.

Coach Greg Chappell criticised the batsmen on Saturday and hinted the performances would be put under the microscope.

"Looking at the tour as a whole, there are more questions than answers," he said. "There will be a few guys under a bit of pressure, there's no doubt."