Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has been included in India's 15-member squad for the ICC ODI World Cup picked here on Monday. India begins its campaign against Bangladesh in Dhaka on February 19.
In an attacking move, the selection panel, headed by the former India captain, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, roped in a third specialist spinner ahead of an additional batsman.
This explains Chawla's inclusion ahead of an extra batsman in Rohit Sharma. Three of India's major opponents in Group ‘B', England, South Africa and the West Indies, do not cope well with leg-spin.
The selectors chose Praveen Kumar as the fourth paceman. S. Sreesanth missed out.
By picking maestro Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Praveen Kumar — all have been under an injury cloud — the selectors have expressed belief that they would recover in time.
The squad: M.S. Dhoni (captain), V. Sehwag (vice-captain), S. Tendulkar, G. Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, R. Ashwin, P. Chawla, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Aashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar.
