Selectors to pick one of them as back up for Ashwin and Harbhajan when they pick Indian team for three-Test tour to Lanka
There will not be drastic changes to the Indian squad that will travel to Sri Lanka next month for the three Tests when the national selectors meet in New Delhi on Thursday.
The 15-member squad that was picked for the Bangladesh one-off Test last month should more or less be the same except for one change as leg-spinner Karn Sharma, who missed the Zimbabwe tour for limited-overs matches early this month due to a fractured middle finger on the left hand, is likely to be replaced by Amit Mishra if he has not recovered completely.
The third specialist spinner's slot – R Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh being the two automatic choices – will be the subject of much deliberation.
While the selectors named 15 for the Bangladesh tour and did not send a replacement after Rahul withdrew due to dengue, the same squad except for Karn are certainties, what with the Karnataka batsman proving his fitness by scoring 96 for India 'A' against Australia 'A' in Chennai on Wednesday.
Apart from third spinner's position, it will also be interesting to find out whether it will be a 15 or 16-member squad for the three-match series.
Should the selectors select a 16-member squad, considering that India will play three Tests starting on August 12 in Galle, a slot for the second wicket-keeper could be created as a back up to Wriddhiman Saha. This could either go to Naman Ojha, who was sent to Australia as a back-up for Dhoni, or Sanju Samson while Robin Uthappa has also shown his interest to play Tests and has been regularly donning the wicket-keeper's gloves for Karnataka. Uthappa kept wickets for India in the recent tour of Zimbabwe in the absence of MS Dhoni.
There is little to choose among batsmen as Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, skipper Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Pujara and Rahul are automatic choices for the seven batting slots in the squad.
The selectors may also want to look at the fast bowling options following Umesh Yadav's disappointment in the rain-affected drawn Test in Fatullah in which he conceded 45 runs in 7 overs without any wicket in the first innings.
The fact that Yadav has been named in India 'A' squad against Australia 'A' in the two 'Tests' in Chennai before the Sri Lanka tour may be an indication enough that he will be given another chance in Sri Lanka.
Varun Aaron, who was ruled out of the first 'A' Test due to viral fever, is likely to recover for the Sri Lankan tour unless the doctor's report to the selectors disclose otherwise.
There should be no doubt about Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's places in the squad.
Likely squad (16): V Kohli (C), M Vijay, S Dhawan, KL Rahul, C Pujara, A Rahane, R Sharma, W Saha, N Ojha, R Ashwin, H Singh, K Sharma / A Mishra, B Kumar, U Yadav, V Aaron, I Sharma
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