Mumbai: Just when Kohli was hinting that he needed a break from the
jam-packed itinerary that he’s been enduring, the team selection ahead
of the Bangladesh tour would have disappointed him.
Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been given the royal
ignore for more than two years now, got a pleasant surprise when he
was recalled into the side, India’s Test squad for the cricket tour of
Bangladesh, where a nearly unchanged ODI side will take the field.
Contrary to speculation about top players being rested, the
five-member selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil decided to go with
full strength squads for both the one-off Test and the three ODIs
starting from June 10.
An injured knee has forced pacer Mohammed Shami out of the tour and
the selectors have picked medium pacer Dhawal Kulkarni to replace him
in the ODI squad. Kulkarni has played only four ODIs so far and has
taken 8 wickets.
Harbhajan’s inclusion was the lone surprise in the Test side, which
would be led by star batsman Virat Kohli after Mahendra Singh Dhoni
retired from the format in January. Dhoni will, however, lead the ODI
squad.
“Harbhajan has been discussed earlier as well. The selection committee
has picked Harbhajan due to the strength of Bangladesh batting
especially the number of left-handers they have. It was decided that
Harbhajan should be there for these reasons. Captain Virat Kohli’s
opinion was also taken on this,” Patil told reporters after the
meeting that lasted little over an hour.
Harbhajan last played a Test for India in March 2013 against Australia
in a home series. The 34-year-old is the third highest Test
wicket-taker for India with 413 scalps to his credit in 101 matches.
Teams:
Test Squad: Virat Kohli (C), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan , KL Rahul,
Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, R
Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav,
Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma.
ODI Squad: MS Dhoni (C), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan,
Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja,
Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Stuart
Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni
(with PTI inputs)