Praveen, Irfan in contention
Pacers Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan are expected to return to the Indian squad for next month’s tri-series in Australia when the national selectors meet here on Sunday to pick the team.
It will also be interesting to see whether the selectors name senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan in the 16-member squad for the tri-series, which will have Sri Lanka as the third team, and the two T20s against Australia.
Both Tendulkar and Zaheer have not played any ODIs since the World Cup final in April last year but with back-to-back whitewash on cards, the selectors may want their most experienced batsman and bowler to play the shorter format.
Yuvraj Singh, who was tending to his non-malignant lung tumour, and Harbhajan Singh, who sustained a shinbone injury, are apparently yet to get fully fit and hence unlikely to be considered for selection.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Manoj Tiwary appear to be automatic choices among the batsmen. If Tendulkar decides to play ODIs, then Ajinkya Rahane will be dropped as it would not make sense to have four specialist openers.
Although Parthiv Patel is favourite to get the second wicketkeeper’s slot, the selectors may just discuss Madhya Pradesh’s Naman Ojha’s name.
Offie Ravichandran Ashwin and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja are automatic choices for the two spinners slot.
Apart from Praveen and Irfan, an impressive Umesh Yadav’s place is all but assured in the squad. With Jharkhand quick Varun Aaron unlikely to be picked due to a stress reaction, the selectors may induct Bengal speed merchant Ashok Dinda to complement the Vidarbha lad.
If Zaheer is available, then the choice for the fifth seamer’s slot will be a toss-up between Munaf Patel, if he is fully fit, and R Vinay Kumar.
