S. Sreesanth gets another opportunity to prove his control over his temperament following his inclusion in the Indian team for the three-Test series against the touring Sri Lankans.
Keeping his emotions in check is a bigger challenge for the talented fast bowler who is back to share the bowling attack with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma.
Munaf Patel misses out despite a successful Irani Cup 2009 at Nagpur where he and Sreesanth shared eight wickets. Left-arm swing bowler Ashish Nehra also does not fit into the selectors’ line of thinking.
Three tweakers
Three spinners — Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha — have been named for the Tests to be played at Ahmedabad, Kanpur and Mumbai.
S. Badrinath returns to the squad as backup for a batting line-up packed with eight other specialists. Drafted into the squad during Australia’s tour here in 2008-2009, he awaits a Test debut.
A proven leader in domestic cricket, he came across as hands-on captain for Rest of India in Irani Cup and India Red in the Challenger Series.
Vijay also in
Murali Vijay, one of the options for opener slot, played in the Nagpur Test against Australia. It remains to be seen whether he will get another opportunity in a squad featuring Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, all of whom have opened before.
The squad: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, S. Badrinath, M. Vijay, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, S. Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra.
