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Yuvraj dilemma for selectors, Sachin still undecided
With the BCCI selection committee meeting in Mumbai on Saturday to pick the 15-member squad for the upcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka, Sachin Tendulkar’s return to the ODI fold seems all but certain.
But the main agenda for the selectors would be decide on Yuvraj Singh’s fate. The middle-order batsman was dropped from the side for the Asia Cup on poor form, scored a half-century in the first Test and missed the second Test in the ongoing Sri Lanka series due to fever. Even though skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is keen on having the Chandigarh batsman in the side, the selectors are reluctant, preferring Mumbai’s Rohit Sharma for the middle-order spot. “The selectors are likely to be informed about Tendulkar’s availability ahead of the meeting. If he is available, Sachin will come in place of Saurabh Tiwary,” a selector told The Indian Express.
As for Zaheer Khan, the pacer still hasn’t recovered completely from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the Test series. In his absence, Ashish Nehra is likely to lead the pace attack along with Praveen Kumar.
Bengal medium pacer Ashok Dinda stands a good chance to retain his spot in the squad, with Abhimanyu Mithun and Munaf Patel likely to fight for the fourth pacer’s spot. “Dinda hasn’t done anything significant but he hasn’t done badly either. Our aim is to create a pool of young seamers with an eye on the World Cup and Dinda makes the list,” said the selector.
In the spin department, the selectors, woefully short of options, are likely to stick to Harbhajan Singh despite his ordinary form. Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, R Ashwin and Piyush Chawla will fight for the other two slots in the spin department, with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as backup. India play their first match at Dambulla on August 10.
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