Mumbai, Jan 28 (Inditop.com) Injured Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh have been ruled out while Karnataka’s new pace sensation Abhimanyu Mithun and Bengal wicketkeeper Wridhiman Saha have been inducted in the India squad for the first Test against South Africa, beginning Feb 6 in Nagpur.
Dravid, whose jaw was fractured by a lethal Shahadat Hossain bouncer in the second Test against Bangladesh, has been advised three-week rest.
Yuvraj, who tore a ligament in his left wrist in Dhaka Test, has also been rested.
Tamil Nadu batsmen Subramaniam Badrinath has been recalled while Murali Vijay, who played in the Dhaka Test, retains his place in the 15-member squad announced by national selectors here Thursday.
Also, fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who flew back home from Bangladesh after sustaining a hamstring injury in the first Test, has been left out.
Chief selector Krisnamachari Srikkanth said they have chosen the best possible squad under the circumstances.
“We have selected the best possible team considering the injury list.
“The team is just for the first Test. We will take a call for the second Test in Kolkata after getting the fitness reports of the players,” Srikkanth said.
Srikkanth said they would go by medical opinion on Dravid’s injury after the first Test.
“Dravid was very keen to play but the doctors have advised him rest as a precautionary measure,” Srikkanth said.
Karnataka pacer Mithun, who made a sensational first class debut this season with a hat-trick and a match haul of 11 wickets against Uttar Pradesh in Ranji Trophy, has been drafted in the squad.
Mithun continued with his stellar form to finish with 47 wickets (23.23 avg) in nine Ranji Trophy matches, and together with another fast bowler R.Vinay Kumar (46 wickets, avg 19.69) was instrumental in taking Karnataka to the finals where they lost to Mumbai.
“He has done extremely well in the domestic season. We needed a fast bowler for the Tests so we have included him,” Srikkanth said.
Bengal wicket-keeper Saha, who was signed up by Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural edition, was a surprise inclusion. He was preferred over Karthik, who played in the first Test against Bangladesh as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had to sit out with an injury.
“Dhoni had a few niggles during the Bangladesh tour. Even in the ODIs he had a few problems with his fitness so we have included Wriddhiman Saha as a back up,” Srikkanth said.
The team for the two-day Board President’s XI match against South Africa in Nagpur from Feb 2 was also announced. Rohit Sharma has been named as the captain of the side.
Test squad:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain and wicket-keeper), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, S. Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ojha, Abhimanyu Mithun, Wridhiman Saha.
Board President’s XI team:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Abhinav Mukund, Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhishek Nayar, Piyush Chawla, R. Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Manpreet Gony.
