Kaif and uncapped paceman in India's one-day team
AHMEDABAD, India, Monday (AFP) Middle-order batsman Mohammad Kaif and
rookie fast bowler Vikram Rajvir Singh were on Monday included in
India's squad for the last two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka
this week.
Kaif, a limited-overs regular, returns after missing the first five
matches of the current series due to a hamstring injury suffered in a
domestic tournament last month.
Singh, a lanky 21-year from Punjab, is regarded by many as India's
fastest bowler and forced his way in after a string of good performances
in only his second first-class season. The duo replace batsman Venugopal
Rao and all-rounder Jai Prakash Yadav, who helped India gain a wining
4-1 lead in the seven-match series against the Sri Lankans.
"It was a tough call to drop Rao and Yadav," said chairman of
selectors Kiran More. "But Kaif is an outstanding player and was an
automatic choice after recovering from injury.
"Singh is one of the most exciting prospects in Indian cricket and we
will watch him closely."
There was still no place for former captain Sourav Ganguly, one of
only four batsmen in one-day cricket to surpass 10,000 runs.The
left-hander, asked to prove his form and fitness by the selectors after
suffering an elbow injury, scored a century and 14 in two domestic
first-class matches over the last two weeks.
The sixth one-dayer against Sri Lanka will be played in Rajkot on
Wednesday and the seventh in Baroda on Saturday.
India is also due to play a five-match limited-overs series at home
against South Africa later this month.
Indian squad for last two Sri Lanka one-dayers:
Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam
Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Dhoni, Suresh Raina,
Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Sri Sreesanth, Harbhajan
Singh, Murali Kartik, Vikram Rajvir Singh. |