The selectors retained Anil Kumble as India's Test captain for the tour of Australia on Wednesday the final team will be selected on Dec 12th.
BANGALORE: The selectors on Wednesday retained Anil Kumble as India's Test captain for the tour of Australia and drafted in the pace trio of Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma and VRV Singh to bolster a depleted attack for the third cricket Test against Pakistan starting here on Saturday.
Injuries to the frontline pacers put the selectors on the back foot and they were forced to recall Irfan, Ishant and VRV to prop up the attack against Pakistan in the final Test.
And with the team laid low by the spate of injuries, the selectors announced a list of 24 probables for the Australia tour, which would be pruned to a 16-member squad on December 12.
"Because of the injuries to the pacers we have announced a list of 24 probables. However, the final 16-member squad for the Australia tour would be announced on December 12 after getting a final report on the players' fitness," BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said, refusing to entertain any other queries.
Among the pacers, Zaheer Khan has sustained a heel injury while RP Singh is yet to recover from a side strain and both would miss the third Test against Pakistan.
Munaf Patel, struggling with a back strain that restricts his movement, would also miss the Test against Pakistan.
Fellow pacer S Sreesanth is nursing a shoulder injury, which ruled him out of the Test series against Australia.
BCCI appointed former Test player Chetan Chauhan as the Administrative Manager for the Test Series in Australia.
M V Sridhar, Vice President of Hyderabad Cricket Association, has been appointed as Assistant Manager who will also look after media for the Test series.
His standoff with the BCCI over, chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar arrived for the selection meeting which lasted for about 75 minutes but did not interact with the media.
While the list of probables rewards many for their steady show on the domestic season, there was heartbreak for out-of-form Virender Sehwag, who did not find a place.
His in-form teammate Gautam Gambhir, however, makes a comeback while fellow Delhi opener, Aakash Chopra, who struck a double century against Himachal in the Ranji Trophy match, is also back in the reckoning.
Former international Parthiv Patel's consistent performance with the bat in the domestic season also bore fruit and the babyface stumper-batsman finds himself among the probables again.
Injuries to frontline bowlers also opened the gate for Mumbai seamer Ajit Agarkar, rookie Rajasthan pacer Pankaj Singh and Bengal spearhead Ranadeb Bose, who find mention in the probables' list.
Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik retains his place, while young Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner Piyush Chawla was also named in the long list.
Squad for 3rd Test against Pakistan:
Anil Kumble (C), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni (V-C), Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Wasim Jaffer, Ishant Sharma, VRV Singh and Murali Kartik.
List of probables for Australia tour:
Anil Kumble (C), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, M S Dhoni (V-C), Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Wasim Jaffer, Ishant Sharma, VRV Singh, Murali Kartik, Dinesh Kaarthick, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, Ranadeb Bose, Pankaj Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ajit Agarkar, Parthiv Patel and Aakash Chopra.
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