Anil Kumble

Bhubaneswar: It’s not a certainty, but Sourav Ganguly may be rested for one of the remaining Pepsi Cup one-dayers.

Announcing the squad for the last two ODIs of the ongoing India-West Indies series here Thursday, chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar said Sourav “may be rested” for one of the one-dayers.

The Chennai one-dayer is on Saturday and the Vadodara match on January 31.

However, there’s one good news: Yuvraj Singh has been “declared fit”. Vengsarkar said that the middle-order batsman will replace Rudra Pratap Singh while ace leggie Anil Kumble comes in place of allrounder Joginder Sharma.

Kumble was earlier rested for the first two ODIs.

Irfan Pathan will also make a comeback after being included for the fourth one-dayer, making it a 16-member squad for the Vadodara match.

Having been sent back from South Africa to play domestic matches and reinvent his form, Pathan’s performance in the Ranji Trophy has apparently impressed the selectors. “He (Pathan) bowled really well for Baroda… and he bowled a lot of overs also… he got his rhythm back,” said Vengsarkar.

The out-of-form aggressive opener Virender Sehwag, at the moment, is ruled out. Asked about his fate, Vengsarkar gave a straight reply: “He (Sehwag) will have to wait for a while.”

To a question about Sachin Tendulkar’s non-performance with the bat, Vengsarkar said: “Let’s not discuss about Sachin. He is the one of the best batsman in the world…”

Vengsarkar, however, felt sorry for Joginder and Rudra Pratap. “It was a tough decision and RP’s omission was unfortunate. As for Joginder, there’s not much time for us. However, he’ll get his chances after the World Cup,” he said.

Joginder played one match in Cuttack while Rudra Pratap did not feature in any of the matches.

Vadodara will also see Munaf Patel ‘join’ the team for nets. Munaf, who drew flak for ‘hiding his injuries in South Africa’, will be assessed there. “We’ll see his fitness… and if found fit, he’ll be considered for the fourth ODI.”

SQUAD FOR LAST 2 ODIs

Batsmen: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar (vice-captain), Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa.

Wicketkeepers: Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Spinners: Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar

Mediumpacers: Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth.

Note: Pathan will join the squad for the fourth ODI on January 31.