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| Joginder |
Rajkot: The prolonged form slump finally caught up with Virender Sehwag as he was sacked on Friday from the Indian squad for the first two one-dayers against the West Indies while Sourav Ganguly expectedly staged a comeback alongwith in-form allrounder Joginder Sharma.
Wielding the axe on non-performers, the national selectors also dropped Irfan Pathan, Mohammed Kaif and Dinesh Mongia from the 15-member squad that toured South Africa.
The omission of Sehwag was on the cards given his poor form in recent times as the selectors effected as many as six changes in the one-day squad that toured South Africa recently.
Sehwag, was, however included in a provisional 30-member probables list for the World Cup which was also named on Friday. The list included a host of youngsters like Tamil Nadu batsman Subramaniam Badrinath, Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, Delhi paceman Ishant Sharma, Mumbai’s Rohit Sharma and Rajesh Pawar.
Seasoned leg-spinner Anil Kumble was “rested” for the first two one-dayers to be played in Nagpur (January 21) and Cuttack (January 24) but the selectors made it clear that he would be considered for the remaining matches.
Chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said Sehwag needed to sort out his batting in the nets before turning out for an international game. “He has been out-of-form for a while. He is a fine player. I am sure that he will come back but I would like to say that he should go back to the nets and sort out his batting,” Vengsarkar said.
Suresh Rainawas retained in the squad which will have a new vice-captain in Sachin Tendulkar.
It would also be a comeback for three other players — Joginder Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa — who all have represented India at some time or the other and reaped the rewards for their consistent performances in domestic cricket. Haryana skipper Joginder played three ODIs against Bangladesh in 2004 while Uthappa had played his last match against the West Indies in May last year.
Gambhir was part of India’s Test squad in South Africa but was not considered for the one-dayers.
Pathan, who was asked to return home midway through the South Africa tour to rediscover his form, failed to find favour with the selectors who deliberated close to two hours before finalising the squads. “Pathan is out of form. He needs to bowl well and pick wickets as well. He has got a chance to come back in the side,” Vengsarkar said.
Asked whether Kumble was kept out because of any injury, Vengsarkar said, “he is not injured but he needs a break. He will be back for the third and fourth one-dayers.”
SQUAD FOR FIRST 2 ODIs
Batsmen: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar (vice-captain), Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa.
Wicketkeepers (seniority-wise): Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Spinners: Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar.
Mediumpacers: Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Joginder Sharma, Rudra Pratap Singh, Sreesanth.
THE COMEBACK MEN
Sourav Ganguly
Last ODI on Sept. 6, 2005, vs NZ in Harare. Made 31 in 44 balls
279 matches, 10123 runs @ 40.65, 22 centuries, 60 fifties, 183 highest, 73.87 strike-rate, 96 catches, 93 wkts @ 37.31, 5/16 best
Gautam Gambhir
Last ODI on March 31, 2006, vs Eng at Faridabad. Made 29 in 45 balls
16 matches, 409 runs @ 25.56, 1 century, 1 fifty, 103 highest, 75.88 strike rate, 6 catches
Ramesh Powar
Last ODI on Oct. 15, 2006 vs Eng at Jaipur. Took 3/24 (in eight overs). DNB.
16 matches, 107 runs @21.40, 1 fifty, 54 highest, 67.30 strike rate, 19 wkts @ 29.89, 3/24 best
Joginder Sharma
Last ODI on Dec 27, 2004 vs Ban at Dhaka. Gave away 20 runs in three overs. DNB
3 matches, 34 runs, 29 n.o. highest, 141.67 strike rate, 3 catches, 1 wicket @ 99.00, 1/28 best
Rudra Pratap Singh
Last ODI on Oct. 26, 2006 vs WI at Ahmedabad. Gave away 29 runs in four overs. Made 0 n.o. in 1 ball
20 matches, 26 runs @ 8.67, 9 n.o. highest, 41.94 strike rate, 6 catches, 24 wkts @ 30.58, 4/35 best
Robin Uthappa
Last ODI May 28, 2006 vs WI at Port of Spain. Made 0 in 3 balls
3 matches, 98 runs @ 32.67, 1 fifty, 86 highest, 79.67 strike rate, 1 catch
WORLD CUP PROBABLES
Batsmen: Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Mohammed Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Subramanium Badrinath, Cheteshwar Pujara.
Wicketkeepers: Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Spinners: Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Rajesh Pawar.
Mediumpacers: Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Joginder Sharma, Rudra Pratap Singh, Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Vikram Rajvir Singh, Ishant Sharma
THE ABSOLUTE ROOKIES
Rajesh Pawar
Formerly of Mumbai, the left-arm spinner has been donning Baroda colours for the last three years. His 211 first-class wickets at 26.55 in 56 matches since 1996, bears testimony to his talent. The 27-year-old is a fairly decent batsman with an unbeaten 95 to his credit. This season he has been one of the leading spinners in the domestic arena with 34 wickets.
Cheteshwar Pujara
The 19-year old from Saurashtra came into prominence when he was only 13, cracking a triple-century in the national U-14 championships. His hunger for big scores remained unabated while he achieved success in the under-19 and first-class levels. Pujara made 145 in his second first-class match against Goa in December 2005. In 11 first-class matches so far he has accumulated 727 runs (average 42.76) with three hundreds and two fifties, including a 177 against Tamil Nadu last month.
Ishant Sharma
The six-foot-four Delhi lad made his first-class debut earlier this season. His 29 wickets in six matches (strike rate 20.10) brought him into the spotlight. Sharma was to fly as a replacement during India’s recent tour of South Africa, but the selectors decided against it in the end. The 18-year-old started playing seriously just four years ago, but quickly came through the ranks and represented India in the U-19 internationals. Sharma has 16 wickets in three ‘Tests’ and six ‘ODIs’ at this level.
Compiled by Mohandas Menon
