Sachin Tendulkar’s decision to take a break has paved the way for Ajinkya Rahane's return to the ODI squad.
The opener finds a place in the 15-man squad announced by the selectors on Wednesday for the July 21-August 7 tour of Sri Lanka, featuring four ODIs and one T20. Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan also make their return to international cricket.
Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and fast bowler Umesh Yadav make a comeback at the expense of all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan, and swing bowler Praveen Kumar. Ojha is the third spin option for captain M.S. Dhoni, along with off-spinner R. Ashwin and leg-spinner Rahul Sharma.
Three pacemen
Rested for the Asia Cup with senior man Zaheer Khan, the young tearaway Umesh Yadav is one of three pacers in the team, sharing space with Ashok Dinda and Vinay Kumar.
Virat Kohli keeps his position as vice-captain and is a vital cog in the middle-order. Manoj Tiwary has also been retained.
The team was finalised at the Cricket Centre following a meeting attended by chief coach Duncan Fletcher and selectors.
With 11 ODIs and two T20s so far, Rahane was rewarded for his consistent showing as an opener in IPL-V.
He made his ODI debut in the Natwest Series against England in September 2011 and last played in the fifth ODI against West Indies in December.
Sehwag’s last ODI appearance was in the Commonwealth Bank Series against Sri Lanka at Hobart in February. He suffered a back spasm while Zaheer was advised a break, resulting in both missing the Asia Cup in Bangladesh.
Keywords: India's tour of Sri Lanka
Miss you sachin
viru will be strike in this tour............
The return of two experienced guys Viru,Zaheer will be a great refreshment to the young squad..the drop of Sachin is a good choice and the selection of Ajinkiya,Tiwary,Umesh will provide a chance for these youngsters to prove themselves..Instead of choosing Ojha,the selection team must have given a chance to the all-rounder Irfan..
Anyhow the young Indian team under the captainship of MS.Dhoni is gonna rock against Srilanka..
"ALL THE BEST"
I think VIRU should contribute much in this tour as a senior
I do not understand why Sachin is dropped. On the other hand I feel Sehwag's return a positive sign for the team. The guys like Irfan Pathan should have given yet another chance.
My preferred starting XI:
1. Sehwag
2. Gambhir
3. Kohli
4. Rahane
5. Rohit
6. Raina
7. Dhoni
8. Ashwin
9. Ashok dinda
10. Zaheer
11. Umesh
irfan pathan is good all rounder .his presence in team gives rise to batting as well bowling power.team will suerly miss him
I am very happy with section of team .It is a very good team.
not bad ya selecting best team definitely india won the series
that's nice to see viru & zaheer in team..............
this team is best for srilanka
First comment is that it is a pointless tour and series. That said, now to the Indian team selection- Tendulkar as usual plays more than one game and everyone at BCCI goes along. He has now become the Indian Jayasuriya. When can the selectors announce that they dropped Tendulkar and Sehwag? Sehwag is not physically fit to play any professional game at international level. His fielding is abysmal.
It is disapponting that Praveen Kumar is not chosen. There is no all-rounder in the team. Raina is the only one who comes close. But his bowling is not international class.
Mr Srikkanth himself once said that IPL is not a basis for a player's selection to the national team. With the multi-speak that he often does, he lacks credibility.
Assume that India will lose to Sri Lanka. You may think that will focus BCCI's attention on cricket. Not at all. It will go on shamelessly as before- just making more and more money.
My preferred starting XI:
1. Sehwag
2. Gambhir
3. Kohli
4. Rahane
5. Rohit
6. Raina
7. Dhoni
8. Ashwin
9. Ojha
10. Zaheer
11. Umesh
While it is definitely heartening to see Tendulkar dropped (he should really retire), the exclusion of Jadeja is a shock. Raina should've gotten the axe instead.
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