Balaji replaces Salvi

L Balaji: another chance to come good © AFP

Lakshmipathy Balaji has replaced Aavishkar Salvi for the first two matches of the TVS Cup triangular series that begins in Chennai on Thursday. Salvi has been ruled out with a hand injury that also kept him out of the second Test against New Zealand. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials said that Salvi was expected to be fit, but did not recover quickly enough. India have to put a drawn Test series against New Zealand behind them and focus on the one-day series involving Australia and New Zealand.

Balaji had an ordinary Test series, picking up just one wicket from two Test matches. He has played one limited overs game, against West Indies in Baroda in 2002, where he was at the receiving end of a brutal assault by Wavell Hinds and Chris Gayle.

Salvi, who split his webbing bowling in the nets during the Ahmedabad Test, had a more successful limited-overs debut, when he played in the TVS Cup in Dhaka. Salvi played three one-dayers and picked up four wickets including a best of 2 for 15.

Salvi's injury is the latest to hit the Indian camp. Earlier Sourav Ganguly was ruled out of the first two one-dayers after he did not recover quickly enough from a minor surgery. Rahul Dravid leads the team in Ganguly's absence.