The Hindu : Sport : Tri-series: Sreesanth and Raina in, Ganguly out

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Tri-series: Sreesanth and Raina in, Ganguly out

Special Correspondent

Chawla chosen as the second specialist spinner
Sreesanth selected as fourth seamer ahead of Munaf

Mumbai: The National selection committee on Sunday may have started a fresh debate on its decision to leave out Sourav Ganguly from the tri-series in Australia, but what is clear now is that it is keen to bring young players into the team in order to strengthen the fielding department.

According to reliable sources, the two Indian selectors in Australia — Ranjib Biswal and Venkatapathy Raju — met Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman individually and explained to them the exigency to alter the nucleus of the side. Biswal and Raju could not meet Rahul Dravid because the former India captain was not in his room on Sunday morning. Yuvraj Singh has been retained vice-captain to Dhoni.

Clearly the selectors in India — Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Jagdale and Bhupinder Singh — had substantial inputs from Biswal and Raju. Chairman of the committee, Vengsarkar also spoke to Dhoni and picked the 16-member squad the Indian captain was happy with. Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, who had an excellent one-day series against Australia and Pakistan at home doesn’t find a place; instead leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has been chosen as the second specialist spinner. Dhoni has preferred a wrist spinner over the left-arm orthodox in Kartik.

Pravin Kumar is back

Returning for the one-day series are Uttar Pradesh left-hander Suresh Raina, who has played plenty of matches after recovering from a damaged ankle and surgery and seamer Pravin Kumar who made his international debut against Pakistan. Pravin Kumar has been rewarded, following a superb run in the Ranji Trophy, especially in the semifinal and final. The selectors chose S. Sreesanth as the fourth specialist seamer ahead of Munaf Patel. Sreesanth’s batting and fielding abilities seem to have tilted the scales in his favour.

In spite of a very mediocre performance in the domestic competition, Mumbai’s Rohit Sharma has been selected. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa were certainties.

The team:

M. S. Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh (vice-captaiin), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, S. Sreesanth, R.P. Singh, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Piyush Chawla, Pravin Kumar. Standbys: Munaf Patel, Manoj Tiwari and Yusuf Pathan.

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