Ganguly likely to miss out for first two games

Sourav Ganguly is likely to be left out owing to his fitness status © Getty Images

Sourav Ganguly is likely to be left out when the national selectors announce the squad for the first two games of the forthcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka, beginning on October 25. Mohammad Kaif's injury, which he sustained in the final of the Challenger Trophy, has made him also a doubtful starter for the opening stages.

Ganguly, currently out of action with a mild tennis elbow, is scheduled to undergo a fitness test on October 17 and might play in East Zone's Duleep Trophy clash against North at Rajkot. However, the game, if it lasts the distance, will end on October 23 and give him just one day ahead of the series opener against Sri Lanka at Nagpur. If Ganguly comes through the Rajkot game with no fitness worries, he shouldn't have too many problems in returning to the Indian side for the third game at Jaipur on October 31st.

Despite a number of youngsters faring well in the ongoing Challenger Trophy in Mohali, the selectors, who are set to meet tomorrow morning, are not expected to spring any major surprises ahead of a tough series against Sri Lanka, currently ranked the second-best one-day side in the world. The only new face may be S Sreesanth, the fast bowler from Kerala, who was named the Man of the Series in the Challenger Trophy.

VVS Laxman's superb performance in the Challenger Trophy, where he cracked a fifty and a hundred, might help him force his way back into the team while Lakshmipathy Balaji's poor showing may cost him dear. Balaji was dropped for the Videocon Cup in Zimbabwe and a combined return of 2 for 124 in this series wouldn't help matters too much. Suresh Raina's fiery 97 may just help him sneak in while Zaheer Khan's much-improved spell today, after being carted around in the opening game, should seal his spot. Ashish Nehra and Anil Kumble are yet to recover from their injuries and will not be in the fray.

Other than Sreesanth, there have been a host of youngsters who have shown promise in the Challengers - Robin Uthappa, VRV Singh and S Vidyut - but it is tough to imagine any of them being blooded against such a strong side like Sri Lanka, who have a fantastic record in the sub-continent. With the Indian side just coming out of a tumultuous controversy, and an abysmal ODI record to boot, the selectors will know the importance of this series, where a triumph could help heal many festering wounds. Marvan Atapattu's men, though, who clearly start as favourites, may have other ideas.

Probable squad

1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Mohammad Kaif/Suresh Raina, 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Venugopal Rao, 7 VVS Laxman, 8 Jai Prakash Yadav, 9 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 10 Irfan Pathan, 11 Lakshmipathy Balaji/S Sreesanth, 12 Ajit Agarkar, 13 Harbhajan Singh, 14 Zaheer Khan, 15 Murali Kartik

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