India-Zimbabwe ODI series: Selectors leave Gautam Gambhir out of their plans

Gautam Gambhir does not figure in the selectors' scheme of things, at least for the time being. The Delhi left-handed opening batsman has been kept out of the relatively inexperienced national side that will tour Zimbabwe for five ODIs beginning on July 24.

Nor has he been considered for the India 'A' tour of South Africa from August 8 to 27 that includes a tri-series against the Australia and South Africa 'A' sides besides two four-day matches.

In the absence of the injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli has been named captain for Zimbabwe while Cheteshwar Pujara will lead the India 'A' to South Africa.

Pujara, who has been included in the senior side for Zimbabwe ODIs, is one of the 10 players including Jammu and Kashmir's Parvez Rasool, who will travel from there to South Africa and will be joined by six others.

Four bowlers Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin — all part of the twin tours of England/Wales and the West Indies have been rested while Murali Vijay has been dropped from the senior team and included in the 'A' squad.

Haryana medium-pacer Mohit Sharma has been rewarded for his fine outing in the recent IPL for Chennai Super Kings, picking up 20 wickets from 15 matches.

Going by Friday's selection, it has become clear that Gambhir's comeback to the national side will have to be backed by tons and tons of runs in the domestic matches, and not just on past record, even if it means a successful trip to SA in 2010-11 where he averaged 60.50 in two Tests and scored three half-centuries.

The 'A' tour of South Africa is considered to be an opportunity for the batsmen to get adjusted to the conditions as they are expected to play key roles in the senior team that will tour the Rainbow Nation this year end.

It is on this basis that the Test openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay along with Pujara have been named in India 'A' squad for South Africa and get acclimatised to the bounce of the African nation.

Also, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu and Ajinkya Rahane for South Africa has sent strong signals that the selectors are looking at the future and not necessarily go back to the tried and tested.

If Gambhir figured in their thoughts, the selectors could have made him captain of India 'A', like they did at the start of the year soon after being dropped from the main side against the visiting Australians.

But in naming Pujara, they have marked him for the future, more so after stand-in skipper Kohli has been given a well-deserved rest after the first leg of the African sojourn, and that the selectors are not keen to disturb the successful opening combination of Dhawan and Vijay.

Gambhir on that trip to South Africa would have also kept some of the youngsters on their toes and make the competition for the national berth that much more hotter.

The African trip will also give Rohit Sharma, who has been in prolific form opening the innings in the ODIs, a chance to stake his claim for Tests with a good showing in South Africa.

With the four key bowlers rested, the bowling looks very raw with only leg-spinner Amit Mishra and swing bowler R Vinay Kumar providing whatever little international experience they have.

The squads
India for Zimbabwe: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Parvez Rasool, Mohammed Shami, R Vinay Kumar, Jaidev Unadkat and Mohit Sharma

Out: Murali Vijay (dropped), Ravichandran Ashwin (rested), Umesh Yadav (rested), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (rested), Ishant Sharma (rested)
In: Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Parvez Rasool, Jaidev Unadkat and Mohit Sharma

India 'A' for South Africa: Cheteshwar Pujara (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Parvez Rasool, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Ishwar Chand Pandey, Jaidev Unadkat and Siddharth Kaul

Common players for both tours
Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Parvez Rasool, Mohammed Shami, Jaidev Unadkat

India in Zimbabwe schedule
July 24: 1st ODI
July 26: 2nd ODI
July 28: 3rd ODI
July 31: 4th ODI
August 3: 5th ODI

India 'A' in South Africa schedule
August 8: 1st one-dayer vs Aus ‘A’
August 9: 2nd one-dayer vs SA 'A'
August 11: 3rd one-dayer vs Aus 'A'
August 12: 4th one-dayer vs SA 'A'
August 14: Tri-series Final
August 17–20: 1st 4-day game
August 24-27: 2nd 4-day game