Dhoni out, Tendulkar in for Lankan tour

India’s top run-scorer Sachin Tendulkar was recalled to the test squad Tuesday after recovering from a persistent groin injury, but wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni opted out of the three-match series against Sri Lanka.

Niranjan Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said Tendulkar had recovered from the groin strain that had kept him out of the Indian squad since March.

Dhoni cited fatique for his request to be left out of the series, Shah said. During the limited-overs Asia Cup in Pakistan that ended Sunday, Dhoni said fatigue was setting in because cricketers were playing nonstop cricket throughout the year.

Dhoni, who was the vice captain, stood in as skipper in India’s last test - against South Africa at Kanpur that India won to draw the series 1-1 - when captain Anil Kumble was injured. The Sri Lanka test series begins July 23 at Colombo.

Kumble returns as captain of a team that includes two test rookies, middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, both of whom have featured in some limited-overs internationals.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh returns to the Indian team after serving suspension for slapping fellow national squad player Shantakumaran Sreesanth during a domestic twenty20 match in May, but the selectors axed Shantakumaran, opener Wasim Jaffer, middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh and all-rounder Irfan Pathan from the 16-member squad.

The selectors also decided to recall left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan, who has recovered from an ankle problem.

India squad: Anil Kumble (captain), Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Parthiv Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Munaf Patel and Pragyan Ojha.

MUMBAI, Tuesday, AP