Yuvraj gets another lifeline, Big guns return to Test squad

Chennai, Jul 2 (PTI) Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and
other big guns returned to national duty, while Yuvraj Singh
was handed another Test lifeline as India on Saturday
announced a full-strength 17-member squad for the upcoming
cricket tour of England starting mid July.
Opener Virender Sehwag will miss the first Test but will
join the squad after a fortnight, while paceman Zaheer Khan
and S Sreesanth, both of whom missed the Carribean tour
because of injuries, have also been named in the team.
Bengal wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha got the nod ahead of
Parthiv Patel as the second wicketkeeper, while Virat Kohli
and opener Murali Vijay were dropped from the squad announced
by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan after a meeting of the
selection committee here.
Tamil Nadu opener Abhinav Mukund was retained in the
squad but pacer Abhimanyu Mithun and spinner Pragyan Ojha
couldn't find favour from the selectors.
The team, to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, will
have Gambhir as the vice-captain.
Yuvraj, who missed the tour of West Indies because of a
chest infection, returns to the Test fold after a gap of
almost one year. The left-hander had last played a Test match
against Sri Lanka at Galle in July, 2010.
Yuvraj, who has failed to cement his place in the Test
squad, gets one more opportunity to prove his worth in the
longer format of the game.
Sreesanth, who was also laid low by an elbow injury,
returns to action after having last played a Test against
South Africa at Cape Town in January this year.
The squad has as many as five pace bowlers considering
the seaming conditions in England. It has two spinners in
Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra.
The batting line-up has been considerably bolstered by
the return of Tendulkar and Gambhir with Sehwag being
available from the second Test onwards.
Sehwag, who skipped the tour of West Indies because of a
shoulder surgery, is still not fully fit but the selectors
have given him time to recover completely before the second
Test starts at Nottingham from July 29.
The focus will again shift to Tendulkar, who is just one
century short of a landmark of 100 centuries in international
cricket.
The seasoned Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman will lend
solidity to the middle-order, while the other berth in the
line-up would go either to Suresh Raina or Yuvraj.
The 21-year-old Mukund tilted the scale in his favour
with a gritty 48 in the second innings of the ongoing second
cricket Test against the West Indies at Kensington.
His opening partner Murali Vijay, however, flopped in all
the innings and paid the price by being dropped from the
squad. Virat Kohli, who also could not make much of an impact
during the tour, was also left out.
The return of Zaheer will provide a lot more sting to the
bowling attack and the wily paceman will have to shoulder the
pace bowling responsibility in conditions that will suit the
fast bowlers.
Ishant Sharma, who has been impressive in the Carribean,
Sreesanth, Munaf Patel and Praveen Kumar will also have a key
role to play during the four-match Test series.
Off-spinner Harbhajan and leg-spinner Mishra are the
specialist spinners in the team, though Yuvraj and Raina can
also be used as part-time spinners.
Wriddhiman's selection as the second wicketkeeper was a
little bit surprising as he got the nod ahead of the more
experienced Parthiv Patel, who is also a handy batsman.
India will play four Tests, five ODIs and a T20 during
their tour of England from July 15 to September 16.
Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt), Gautam Gambhir (vice
Capt), Abhivan Mukund, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS
Laxman, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer
Khan, S Sreesanth, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra,
Munaf Patel, Wriddhiman Saha, Virender Sehwag.