News

Tendulkar and Sehwag rested for final ODI

Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay and Karnataka fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun have been picked for the third ODI against South Africa in Ahmedabad on February 27

Cricinfo staff
25-Feb-2010
M Vijay is one of India's opening options on Saturday  •  Associated Press

M Vijay is one of India's opening options on Saturday  •  Associated Press

India have made a slew of changes for the final one-dayer against South Africa in Ahmedabad on February 27. The most significant of them is that openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have been rested for the dead rubber. Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay and Karnataka fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun are among the new faces in the 14-man squad.
Tendulkar batted all 50 overs during his unbeaten 200 in Gwalior while Sehwag played that match after suffering a sore back in the first game in Jaipur.
Vijay has played a handful of Tests but is yet to make his ODI debut, and has had a decent run in the ongoing Vijay Hazare one-day tournament, making three half-centuries in five matches. This is the first call-up to a national limited-overs squad for Mithun, who is coming off a stunning debut Ranji season but has had lesser success in the shorter formats.
The home side will be short on experience as another first-choice player, fast bowler Praveen Kumar, has been rested, while offspinner Harbhajan Singh's break from international cricket has been extended. Add to that the injuries to Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh, and India will line-up on Saturday without seven members of their preferred starting XI.
Another addition to the pool is Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma, who was most recently part of the national squad during the tri-series in Bangladesh last month.
India have already won the three-match series 2-0.
Squad: M Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Sudeep Tyagi, S Sreesanth, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashish Nehra