JOIN USAll-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was recalled into the Test squad after more than a year by the selection committee which met on Monday to pick the 16-member squad for the first two matches against the touring South Africans.
Jadeja replaces off-spinner Harbhajan Singh as the solitary change in the Test team. Harbhajan was part of the squad for the one-off Test in Bangladesh and the one that toured Sri Lanka for the three-Test series.
The 26-year-old Jadeja had last appeared in a Test against England in Manchester in August 2014. He, however, has dished out impressive performances for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy, accumulating 149 runs in two innings and picking up 24 wickets at an average of 8.25 from three games.
“We have picked Jadeja keeping in mind the kind of pitches that we will play on and the opposition,” the chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil told reporters. “We don't discuss just 15 players. We consider domestic performances."
Karnataka left-arm pacer Sreenath Aravind would be replacing Umesh Yadav for the remaining two One-day Internationals in Chennai and Mumbai. South Africa lead the series 2-1. Yadav, though, has been named in the Test squad.
Patil said they backed the team despite its below par performance in the limited-overs games. "We are concerned (with the performances). Two selectors who were travelling with the team had a word with the team management and the captain. We had a detailed discussion with the captain. It is not a worrying factor,” Patil said.
"I have been saying that nobody is happy that we lost a game that we should have won. But we still back the team which we have chosen. We have confidence in our captain, coach and the director.”
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was sidelined following the side-strain he picked during the first ODI in Kanpur, has been named in the Test squad. Besides Ashwin and Jadeja, leggie Amit Mishra has been included as the third spinner.
Pacer Ishant Sharma, who had pulled a hamstring during Delhi’s Rani Trophy match against Haryana has found a place in the Test team. He, however, will miss the opening Test because of the suspension following his misconduct during the Sri Lanka tour.
The Test side led by Virat Kohli boasts of a formidable batting line-up comprising openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay, along with K L Rahul. Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane will form the middle-order.
The BCCI has also named the Board President's XI which will play South Africa in Mumbai on October 30 and 31. The 13- member squad will be led by Pujara and includes 20-year-old Rajasthan pacer Nathu Singh, who took 7 for 87 against Delhi on his first-class debut. Karnataka batsman Karun Nair is part of the Board President’s XI.
DH News Service
ODI squad for last two matches: MS Dhoni (captain/ wicketkeeper), Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, S Arvind, Gurkeerat Singh, Amit Mishra, Harbhajan Singh.
First two Tests: Virat Kohli (captain), M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, K L Rahul, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma
Board President's XI: Cheteshwar Pujara (capt), KL Rahul, Unmukt Chand, Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer, Naman Ojha, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Sheldon Jackson, Karn Sharma, Nathu Singh.