New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner Piyush Chawla was a surprise inclusion in the Indian squad that will take on South Africa in the one-off Twenty20 and five match ODI series that starts on January 9.
Apart from Chawla, regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, senior-most player Sachin Tendulkar, dashing opener Virender Sehwag and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh – all of whom opted for rest during the New Zealand ODI series made a comeback.
Incidentally, the South Africa ODI series will be India's last assignment before the World Cup in sub-continent next year.
With a last chance to settle the core team before the World Cup, one can be rest assured that most of the players who will be playing against South Africa will be in the World Cup squad also.
Chawla's inclusion means that selectors want to check out what's in store in the slow bowling department after their experiments with Ravindra Jadeja haven’tt exactly paid rich dividends.
Also surprising was Parthiv Patel's non-inclusion in the ODI squad after the player scored back-to-back half centuries against New Zealand being given chance in shorter form after six and half years. There is no second wicket-keeper in the team.
Among the ones who are with the Test squad currently, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Jadhav and Jaydev Unadkat will be boarding a flight back home.
In-form Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan also returned to the side to bolster India's batting department after sitting out of the Test matches.
The Indian pace department will be spearheaded by Zaheer Khan, who missed the first Test against South Africa due to an injury.
S Sreesanth also managed to retain his place in the fast bowling department which will have Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel.
In the spin department, Harbhajan will be assisted by Ravichandran Ashwin and Chawla.
All-rounder Jadeja has been left out of the team, while Yusuf, who impressed during the home series against New Zealand, has been retained.
Middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma and Saurabh Tiwary, both of whom played in the ODI series against New Zealand, also failed to make the cut.
The squad comprises six batsmen, one wicketkeeper in Dhoni, one all-rounder in Yusuf and eight bowlers – five quicks and three spinners.
Indian team for Twenty20 and ODI series in South Africa: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla S Sreesanth.
PTI
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