TheSportsCampus

The All India Senior National Selection Committee met today at the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association's M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai and selected a 15-member team for the Border-Gavaskar series slated to be played against Australia in October 2010.

The 15-member squad for the two Test series which gets underway at Mohali on the 1st of October has few surprises, with the selectors largely sticking to the tried and tested. The only noteworthy exclusion is dashing left-hander Yuvraj Singh, who has struggled with both form and fitness over the last 12 months. His spot in the squad has been handed over to young Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been knocking on the door of the national side for quite a few seasons. The 22-year old Saurashtra batsman averages in excess of 60 at the first class level, and has impressed at every opportunity at junior and reserve team level. Though not expected to break into the playing eleven in this series, Pujara has also been picked for the Board President's XI game against the touring Aussies at Mohali itself, and a good showing in that game could give the selectors something to think about heading into the first test.

The rest of the batting unit pretty much picks itself, with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir slated to open the innings with Murali Vijay the reserve opener. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman make up a solid threesome in the middle order, with another newcomer to this level, Suresh Raina expected to slot in at number 6. Raina got a century on debut on the tour to Sri Lanka last month, and has knocked Yuvraj out from that test spot he earned after spending years waiting in the wings.

Skipper MS Dhoni is the only wicketkeeper in the squad.

The bowling unit is what will concern Indian fans, with three spinners and medium pacers unlikely to really worry the Australian top order. Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha will be responsible for picking up a bulk of the wickets on home turf, with Harbhajan and Ojha likely to get the nod ahead of the erratic Mishra. Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and S Sreesanth will fight for the two new ball slots. Sharma and Khan would be the favourites, though a good showing for the Kerala skipper in the tour game might just put him in the reckoning. Sreesanth is undoubtedly the quickest of the Indian bowlers, and can swing the ball, but his suspect temperament and ability to break down rather easily leaves a question mark about his staying power even in a short series such as this.

The Indian Squad is as follows: M S Dhoni (Captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, S. Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara

Test Schedule:

1st Test, Mohali: 1st - 5th October
2nd Test, Bengaluru : 9th - 13th October

File Photograph Copyright: Blnguyen