Gambhir back, Yuvi ignored
Chennai, Oct. 25: With skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni moving east from Goa, the selection committee perhaps spent even less time than usual in Chennai on Monday to pick the team for the three-Test series against New Zealand.
Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma, who were not in the squad for the Bengaluru Test against Australia due to injuries, and V.V.S. Laxman, are back to full fitness and expected to return to the XI, meaning Team India will be at full strength.
There will be some heartaches when the reserve batsmen, Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, who came off the bench to perform so well in the second Test, have to be left out of the playing XI.
But India, the world’s top ranked Test side, would be aiming to put their 11 best men on the field subject to fitness and some sacrifices will be made in asking young batsmen to sit out again when the first ball is bowled on November 4 in Ahmedabad.
The playing XI — expected to comprise Dhoni (captain), Sehwag (vice-captain), Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha — will be the strongest team India would have played in a home Test for some years now. Taking that into consideration, Vijay, Pujara, Sreesanth and Amit Mishra who make up the remainder of the squad can only be considered reserves at the moment.
The confidence of the selectors is amply reflected in their naming the same squad for all the three Tests against the Kiwis. The winning environment around Team India, firmly No. 1 in Tests and No. 2 in ODIs after Test and ODI series wins over Australia at home most recently, has a lot to do with this settled look to the team and squad now.
“The team has performed extremely well against the Australians in both the Tests and One day series, particularly the Bangalore Test. Our junior players have gelled well in the middle-order with the seniors. Our bowlers have done a remarkable job.
“Going by this, we have picked the team for all the three Tests. I am confident that our players will continue their victory march,” BCCI chief selector Kris Srikkanth said later.
“Our bench strength was there for all to witness. This is a good sign for Indian cricket.”
The three Tests against New Zealand are to be played in Ahmedabad (November 4 to 8), Hyderabad (November 12 to 16) and Nagpur (November 20 to 24). The team for the five ODIs will be picked later).
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