The 32-year-old hard-tackling midfielder, who made his debut in 2001, has been replaced by Hassan Yebda who will be joined in the centre of midfield by French-born Medhi Lacen.
Saadane told a news conference the new captain would be Germany-based defender Antar Yahia, who scored the stunning volley that secured their World Cup ticket when Algeria beat Egypt 1-0 in a playoff in November.
"For any player, it is always difficult to explain to him, to make him understand he's lost his placed due to competition," said Saadane, who returns to the World Cup at the helm of his country's team 24 years after his previous appearance.
"We must do it, even if it's painful."
He said Algeria's preparations had been marred by injuries but all those carrying knocks were now back and the squad had finally been able to work well together over the past week.
"We will play each game like a cup match. We are going to compensate for our technical weaknesses with the desire we have always shown in our qualifying matches," said Saadane.
Yebda told reporters the composition of Group C meant the result against Slovenia could determine the success of their campaign: "We have to win. We'll do everything to win."
