Gambhir to undergo fitness test today

Gautam Gambhir will face a fitness test here on Thursday. Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary N Srinivasan said the fitness of the India opener will be assessed on Thursday after which his availability for the Champions Trophy will be decided.

It is, however, learnt that the Delhi player should clear the test. A key member of the squad told DNA that Gambhir should be in a position to board the flight to South Africa, along with the rest of the squad. The team leaves for South Africa on Friday. “He should be ok,” the source added.

Gambhir was sent back from Sri Lanka after aggravating ed a groin injury sustained during the Corporate Trophy. Meanwhile, the national selection committee appointed Virender Sehwag as the captain for the Rest of India squad which will take on Ranji champions Mumbai in the Irani Trophy, to be held in Nagpur from October 1-5.

Sehwag, who had a shoulder surgery in June, has been out of action since then. He is also not playing in the Champions Trophy. S Badrinath of Tamil Nadu will be his deputy.

Meanwhile, the selection committee also named the squads for the NKP Salve Challenger series, which will also take place at Nagpur from Oct 8-11. MS Dhoni will lead India Blue, Yuvraj Singh will captain India Red while Suresh Raina is India Green skipper.