RoI and 'A' squads announced

Sourav Ganguly has been left out of the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy match, starting on September 24, in Vadodara. Mohammad Kaif, picked from the India A side after his 94 against Australia A, has been preferred to Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma and S Badrinath.

Ashok Dinda, the Bengal medium-pacer, got a surprise call-up to the squad that is meant to feature probables for the Australia series in October.

Sachin Tendulkar, who declared himself fit for the match, against Ranji champions Delhi, has made it along with Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Parthiv Patel, the other promotion from the India A side, is likely to open the batting with Wasim Jaffer.

Badrinath, meanwhile, will continue leading India A side, in the limited-overs tri-series, involving Australia A and New Zealand A, starting on September 15. His deputy will be Suresh Raina, fresh from impressive showings in the Asia Cup and in Sri Lanka. Dinesh Karthik, who lost out on the Irani Trophy slot to Parthiv, will be India A's keeper in the tri-series.

There were rewards for those who did well in the inaugural IPL: Swapnil Asnodkar, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Yusuf Pathan and Wriddhiman Saha found themselves in the 15-member squad. Hyderabad opener DB Ravi Teja was included, as was Saurashtra's Jaydev Shah. Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar, India's ODI regulars, will also play in the series, while Piyush Chawla and Robin Uthappa, dropped recently, get another chance to impress the selectors.

Rest of India squad: Anil Kumble (capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, Mohammad Kaif, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel, RP Singh, Ashok Dinda, Harbhajan Singh

India A squad: S Badrinath (capt.), Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Swapnil Asnodkar, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Dhaval Kulkarni, Piyush Chawla, Ravi Teja, Yusuf Pathan, Jaydev Shah, Wriddhiman Saha

So IPL performances are getting recognition.

Is this the end of road for Ganguly?

Rest of India squad: Anil Kumble (capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, Mohammad Kaif, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel, RP Singh, Ashok Dinda, Harbhajan Singh

Out of the above mentioned players, 7 will definitely play against Aussies in the first test while 3 (Ishant, Sehwag and UMB) would certainly be from Delhi.

Ban India.

SG wrote:So IPL performances are getting recognition.

I don't mind them giving chances for India A limited over matches.

But why on earth was Dinda chosen for Irani Trophy? What has this guy done in Ranji trophy? Or for that matter any FC match? Does it not look like one east zone player was dropped hence another was picked in the bargain. Whether he deserves to be chosen or not doesn't matter!

And Ojha has been chosen for the longer version ahead of Chawla and Mishra? Selectors have certainly jumbled up their thoughts here.

SG wrote:Is this the end of road for Ganguly?

Looks like it barring some miracle!

Chandan wrote:

SG wrote:Is this the end of road for Ganguly?

Looks like it barring some miracle!

Where have I read this before?

Seems Ganguly is the first casualty among the big 4, Dravid just about surviving. But Kaif again?

I like the Irani Trophy a lot when the full strength sides play. Munaf had a great match last year.

SG wrote:Rest of India squad: Anil Kumble (capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, Mohammad Kaif, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel, RP Singh, Ashok Dinda, Harbhajan Singh

Out of the above mentioned players, 7 will definitely play against Aussies in the first test while 3 (Ishant, Sehwag and UMB) would certainly be from Delhi.

Sehwag
Gambhir
Dravid
Sachin
Kaif??
Laxman
Dhoni
Kumble
Bhajji
Zaheer
Ishant

Is this the team you are thinking about Goel?

I'm not convinced how Kaif will perform against quality Australian seamers even on Indian tracks.

But who would I have preferred? I'm myself not sure!

Who'd have been your choice anyway?

S Badrinath.

Chandan wrote:

SG wrote:Rest of India squad: Anil Kumble (capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, Mohammad Kaif, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel, RP Singh, Ashok Dinda, Harbhajan Singh

Out of the above mentioned players, 7 will definitely play against Aussies in the first test while 3 (Ishant, Sehwag and UMB) would certainly be from Delhi.

Sehwag
Gambhir
Dravid
Sachin
Kaif??
Laxman
Dhoni
Kumble
Bhajji
Zaheer
Ishant

Is this the team you are thinking about Goel?

Exactly, Chandan.

doremi wrote:S Badrinath.

Selectors don't have enough guts to try out a rookie in a test series as big as this.

doremi wrote:S Badrinath.

The way he fails against international class bowler doesn't fill me with hope either. Let us see how he does in the second unofficial test vs Australia A.

If you want to replace test class batsmen with test class batsmen, you need to try out players who have done well in FC for an extended period of time, not just try out young talented flashy strokeplayers. Badrinath is one of the first names there.