Yuvraj back, Harbhajan gets a recall for World T20

New Delhi: The Singhs of Indian cricket are back - Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh - as the Indian selectors announced the squads for the series against New Zealand and ICC World T20 today in Mumbai.

The five wise men of Indian cricket picked squads for the two-match Test series and two Twenty20 matches, as well as for the ICC World T20 Championship to be held next month in Sri Lanka.

While Yuvraj`s inclusion was on the cards, Harbhajan`s selection was simply based on his past record as India`s spin department is pretty thin on experience. He last played for India against England at Trent Bridge last July-August before he flew back with an injury and has not been considered for selection since then.

The surprise inclusion has to be Piyush Chawla, who has done precious little in the domestic season gone by but dearth of quality leg-break bowlers was the reason behind the Uttar Pradesh player getting the nod ahead of the likes of Rahul Sharma and Amit Mishra.

The inclusion of Laxmipathy Balaji is based on his impressive performance for Kolkata Knight Riders in the last two editions of the Indian Premier League. The 30-year-old`s ability to bowl effective slower deliveries at the death has led to his selection over Umesh Yadav.

The only tearaway pacer in the squad is Ashok Dinda while the other two seamers will be the experienced duo of Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan.

The T20 squad consists of eight players -- Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh -- who were a part of India`s historic T20 triumph in South Africa five years back.

For the Test series, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar has returned after a break. He had opted out of the recently concluded ODI series against Sri Lanka to spend time with his family.

And contrary to media reports of VVS Laxman getting an axe, the Hyderabadi batsman has retained his spot. There were growing speculations if the wristy batsman will get another chance after his poor form with the bat against Australia earlier this year.

Another player coming back into the side is lanky pacer Ishant Sharma, who had undergone an ankle surgery earlier this year. He had also missed the Indian Premier League 5 due to the surgery.

Team India for Test series against NZ: MS Dhoni (Captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina.

Team India for T20Is/ICC World T20: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Gautam Gambhir ,Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, L Balaji, Ashok Dinda, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh and Manoj Tiwary.

BDST: 1925 HRS, August 10, 2012
Edited by
Chanchal Ghosh, Newsroom Editor