Mumbai: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir’s long wait on the sidelines finally ended after the Delhi batsman was recalled to the national side for the tour of England.
The selectors named an 18-member squad for the five-match Test series to be played from July 9. M.S Dhoni was named captain of the side. Senior fast bowler Zaheer Khan was left out of the squad that comprises six fast bowlers and with his persisting injury concerns, his international career almost seem to have ended.
On the other hand, Pankaj Singh, the lanky fast bowler from Rajasthan who has been consistently performing in the domestic circuit was finally rewarded for his efforts. Pankaj has been impressive in the four-day format where, he picked up 45 wickets including four five-wicket hauls in the 2013-14 season. Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami were expected inclusions while Varun Aaron made a comeback replacing Umesh Yadav.
With tracks in England conducive to seam bowling, the selectors decided against including the third spinner in the side, showing faith in R. Ashwin and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Harbhajan Singh, who was part of previous tour to England remained out of contention. Not wanting to take any risks with injuries and breakdowns, the selectors also included extra wicket-keeper Wriddiman Saha and all-rounder Stuart Binny.
Meanwhile, the selectors also named a 15-man squad for the ODI series in Bangladesh to be led by Suresh Raina. The short tour which will precede the England series wears a young look as M.S. Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma have been rested. The series will mark Robin Uthappa’s return to international cricket.
The Bangalore batsman is on a roll having secured the Orange Cap in the IPL besides being the leading run-scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary, Maharashtra’s Kedar Jadhav and Cheteshwar Pujar will form the middle-order.
The selectors also named young Gujarat spinner Akshar Patel in the squad but it remains to be seen if he gets a game ahead of Amit Mishra and Parveez Rasool.
