India without Tendulkar for first part of Sri Lanka tour
Man of the series in the recently concluded Coca-Cola Cup in Zimbabwe Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out for the forthcoming tri-series with a similar name in Sri Lanka
Anand Vasu
09-Jul-2001
Man of the series in the recently concluded Coca-Cola Cup in Zimbabwe
Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out for the forthcoming tri-series
with a similar name in Sri Lanka. The latest Coca-Cola Cup will see
India lock horns with the hosts Sri Lanka and New Zealand. With
Tendulkar being ruled out with a foot injury, India begin their
campaign on the wrong foot. The other omissions from the team that
played in Zimbabwe are Railways medium pacer Harvinder Singh and
Punjab southpaw Dinesh Mongia. Back in the Indian team are Delhi left
arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi, explosive middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh
and Madhya Pradesh's Amay Khurasiya.
Tendulkar's injury has been described as "not very serious" and it is
said that all he needs is a bit of rest. The little master will
certainly be fit for the Test series, commencing in Galle on August
14. In fact, India will have the benefit of Tendulkar's services from
the last league game (against New Zealand) onwards.
The inclusion of Khurasiya has raised a few eyebrows all around as the
southpaw has not played for India since the Coca-Cola Singapore
Challenge against West Indies in September 1999. In the absence of
Tendulkar, there is talk that Khurasiya will keep his skipper company
at the top of the order. In the 10 limited overs games Khurasiya has
played for India, he has opened just once - against Pakistan in
1998-99 when he made 5. In all, his career statistics are less than
impressive. In nine knocks out in the middle, the 29-year-old
Khurasiya has managed 137 runs at an average of 15.22. With just one
half century to his name, Khurasiya is unlikely to worry his opponents
too much.
Chairman of selectors Chandu Borde is quoted as saying, "He opens for
Central Zone and Madhya Pradesh, he is a clean hitter of the ball and
can maximise the use of the first 15 overs." With Sourav Ganguly not
being at the top of his form, the inclusion of Khurasiya as an opener
is at best a gamble.
The other inclusion, one that is less contentious, is that of Yuvraj
Singh. When asked why Yuvraj was left out of the squad that toured
Zimbabwe, Borde said that Dinesh Mongia was preferred for his
consistency. With that tune getting stale, Borde is now singing a new
song. He said today that Yuvraj got the nod over Mongia thanks to his
brilliant fielding. How things change in Indian cricket in a matter of
weeks!
Harvinder Singh, who hardly had a chance to peddle his wares in
Zimbabwe loses out as the selectors adopt a horses for courses
approach and bolster the spin department. Rahul Sanghvi with his slow
left arm spin will provide variety bowling alongside offspinner
Harbhajan Singh.
The rest of the team remains the same and will stay that way till July
28 when the selectors meet again to pick the squad for the Tests. For
the longer version of the game, the dilemma about Shiv Sunder Das'
opening partner continues. Contenders for the slot include Sadagopan
Ramesh, Vinayak Mane, Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir and Connor
Williams.
The squad for the One-Dayers: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid
(vice-captain), VVS Laxman, Hemang Badani, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan
Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Virender Sehwag, Reetinder Singh
Sodhi, Sameer Dighe, Debashish Mohanty, Rahul Sanghvi, Yuvraj Singh,
and Amay Khurasiya.