Dravid, Yuvraj ruled out of SA series
Mumbai: The team for the first Test against the visiting Proteas was announced by the BCCI in a media release on Thursday. After the national selectors met to pick the team, it was declared that Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh will miss the two-Test series owing to injuries.
Dravid sustained two hairline fractures in his cheekbone during the second Test in Bangladesh, while Yuvraj is suffering from a ligament tear on his left wrist.
Chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth said despite Dravid being keen to take part in the series, the panel decided to exclude him on the advice of the doctors to give him a three-week rest.
However, VVS Laxman has recovered from his hand injury and has been included in the 15-member squad for the opening Test starting on February 6.
Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath, who has been on the fringes for quite some time now, has been named as Dravid’s replacement.
The role of reserve wicketkeeper has been taken away from Dinesh Karthik and handed over to Wriddhiman Saha.
While Srikkanth refused to comment on Karthik’s exclusion, he said his team of selectors had tried to pick the best possible side despite the injury woes.
The absence of S Sreesanth, who is nursing a hamstring strain, has opened the doors for young pacer Abhimanyu Mithun, who has had an impressive domestic season.
Squad for the first Test: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, S Badrinath, MS Dhoni (Capt), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ojha, Abhimanyu Mithun, Wriddhiman Saha
The selection panel also announced a 13-man Board President Eleven (BPXI) squad which will play a two-day game against the visitors on February 2 and 3.
BPXI squad: Abhinav Mukund, Parthiv Patel, Rohit Sharma (Capt), Manish Pandey, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhishek Nayar, Piyush Chawla, R Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Manpreet Gony