Zaheer, Sreesanth make a comeback to test squad

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: November 11, 2009

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New Delhi: India’s temperamental speedster S Sreesanth on Tuesday got another chance to get his derailed career back on track after being named in the 15-man squad for the first two test matches against Sri Lanka.

Sreesanth, whose on-field antics have often landed him in trouble with the administrators, was recently issued a “final warning” for his poor on-field behavior… but ironically he is now a prime candidate to share the new ball with returning pace spearhead Zaheer Khan.

Meanwhile, fast bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan made an expectant comeback after having recovered from a shoulder injury. Zaheer had injured himself earlier this year while playing for Mumbai Indians in the second edition of the Indian Premier League and had to subsequently miss the tour to Sri Lanka, the Champions Trophy and the ongoing ODI series against Australia.

Surprisingly, left arm pacer Ashish Nehra was ignored for the test team even after being the most consistent performer for the team in the absence of Zaheer Khan. Munaf Patel was also left out as the selectors opted to have three spinners in the squad recalling Pragyan Ojha to the test team. Ojha, who is yet to make his test debut, had toured Sri Lanka in 2008 but didn’t get to play any match. He subsequently lost his place to Amit Mishra.

Other notable inclusions in the team to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni were Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay and middle order batsman S Badrinath. Batsmen Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Praveen Kumar, who are playing in the ongoing series against Australia, were not considered for selection for the three-match Test series.

As expected, the veteran batting pair of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman retained their places in the test team. Barring Sreesanth’s comeback, there were no major surprises in the squad, which has eight specialist batsmen, three pacers, three spinners and one wicketkeeper in Dhoni.

Zaheer’s return is sure to strengthen the pace bowling department which also has an off-colour Ishant Sharma, who has been retained despite his indifferent performance in last few months. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will lead the spin attack with leg-spinner Amit Mishra and young left-armer Pragyan Ojha supporting him.

While Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will open the innings, Murali Vijay has been picked as reserve opener. The middle-order seems stable with Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Laxman and Yuvraj Singh forming a formidable line-up.

The Indians play the first Test in Ahmedabad followed by two more Tests in Kanpur (November 24 to 28) and Mumbai (December 2 to 6).

After the Test series, the Sri Lankans will play two Twenty20 matches and five one-dayers.

Team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Pragyan Ojha, S Sreesanth and S Badrinath.

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