The 15-member team on their way to Sri Lanka for the ODI series is not to include Sachin Tendulkar after he himself opted out of the squad. Zaheer Khan will be joining along whereas Harbajan Singh has been left out, as a decision by the committee.
Sachin Tendulkar opts out of Sri Lankan tour
The series is to be played in the July-August period, in Sri Lanka and will be the first into the new season. The BCCI expressed great excitement for the upcoming term and said that the team was selected based on the fitness and form of the players. They wanted to make sure to send along the best possible team with the most suited players and that is why they took the decisions they did.
Along with Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag also returned to the team and will be part of the tour. He had time off as he was suffering from shoulder injuries as well back spasms. Zaheer Khan too was in a recovering mode. The most expensive player of the IPL, Ravindr Jadeja has been left out along with Praveen Kuman, Irfan and Yusuf Pathan.
Sachin Tendulkar, although, will not be part of the ODI’s, however he is expected to be part of the Parliament session that is set to begin in monsoon. His place in the team will be taken by batsman Ajinkya Rahane. In place of Jadeja comes left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha and Umesh will take Praveen Kumar’s place.
Krishnamachari Srikkanth, the chairman of the committee seems to be especially confident that the team will deliver to their best. Even though, he said, Sachin could not be a part of the squad, the boys will give their best performances.
“It is a long season ahead and I think we will come back to winning ways. Sachin wants to extend his career. He must be aiming at England and Australia (series later this year). He is spacing it out very well,” said Srikkanth. “I don’t really want to dwell on whys, they are difficult. We should look at what has been selected,” Srikkanth said.
He also added that the reason Sachin refused to go was because there was a long season ahead and with the England and Australia series on the planner, he wants to make sure that he is fit to play then.
The Twenty20 World Cup, hosted by Sri Lanka again, will commence a month after the series.
Tags: BCCI, Cricket, India, ODI Series, Sachin Tendulkar, Sri Lanka, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Kha
