India Include Yuvraj Singh for Sri Lanka three-Test Series
The Indian selection committee has reposed confidence in the swashbuckling left handed batsman Yuvraj Singh, and brought him back in the national squad that is set to play Sri Lanka in a three test-match series set to start on the 18th of next month.
India, who were crowned the Asian Champions in the fifty over format last week, face the Lankan lions in a potentially gruelling series; hence the selectors have opted for the experienced Yuvraj who endured a wretched run of form in recent months.
The Southpaw from Punjab was axed from the tour of Zimbabwe and the Asia Cup after he failed to impress in the World T20 Championship held in the Caribbean last month. His reversal in form was one of the reasons for the poor performance of the Indian team that crashed out of the competition after losing all three super eight matches.
The rest of the squad is similar to India’s test squads in recent months. The seasoned trio of Rahul Dravid, the Little Master Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, who sat out the Asia Cup, make a return and would once again be shoring up arguably the best batting line-up in test cricket, backed by the Delhi dasher Virender Sehwag at the top of the innings.
The bowling line-up is also experienced, with the likes of Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma forming the pace attack, while the Turbanator Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra doing the spinning job for the team ranked the best test team in the world.
The likes of Sreesanth and Harbhajan had a major role to play in India’s two nil win over the Lankans in the test series held in India last year.
Sreesanth in particular was devastating in the third test, claiming five wickets in the second innings prodigiously swinging the old ball, as he tore through the Sri Lankan batting line up on a batting friendly track that led to the series win.
Once again, bowling with the old ball will be the key for success in hot and humid conditions, where the ball tends to reverse swing. Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth would have to supplement the pace and bounce extracted by the tall and gangly Ishant Sharma who is generally regarded as the new ball bowler.
The Indians have also included Chennai batsman Murali Vijay, who had an outstanding run in the multi million dollar Indian Premier League, yet failed to do much with the bat in the World T20 Championship.
His real test would be to adapt to the demands of five day cricket, where patience is a real virtue and adventurous stroke play can lead to one’s downfall.
It would also be interesting to see how the injury prone Delhi dasher Virender Sehwag performs in testing conditions, in the wake of his return to the team after injury lay-offs.
During the last tour of Sri Lanka, he struck a sublime double hundred that took India to a win in the second test of the series, and once again the Indians would be relying on him to give them solid starts at the top of the innings.
Wriddhiman Saha has been included in the squad as a back up to captain MS Dhoni, yet he is only going to be included in the playing eleven if Dhoni breaks down before a test.
The three test match series is set to provide an enthralling contest, as the Lankans would be keen on getting back at their nemesis who have troubled them in the longest format of the game lately.
Lets us see if the Lankans can roar back at the talented and explosive Indian line-up.
Squad: MS Dhoni (wk & capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag (vice-capt.), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, M Vijay, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Wriddhiman Saha (wk)
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