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It took nearly 40 years of waiting and it was well worth it. Sachin Tendulkar chose one of the better bowling attacks doing the rounds, to eclipse the record for the highest score, before bringing up the first double-hundred in ODI history. The spectators at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium became the envy of cricket fans as they witnessed one of the country’s favourite sporting heroes play a breathtaking innings which not only set up a 153-run annihilation but also the series victory. He may have been run-out cheaply in the previous match, but nothing could deny him today – be it bowlers, fielders, mix-ups or cramps.Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni stood by and admired as the master unfurled all the shots in his repertoire.

At 36, Tendulkar hasn’t shown signs of ageing, and his sparkling touch in both forms of the game has ruled out all possibilities of him checking out anytime soon. Fatigue, cramps and paucity of time have stood in the way of batsmen going that extra mile to get to the 200-mark. Tendulkar did cramp up after crossing 150, but he didn’t opt for a runner. His experience of 20 years at the international level came into play in this historic innings, staying at the crease from the first ball to the last, never once losing focus. There were no chances offered, no dropped catches, making his innings absolutely flawless.

A swirl of emotions must have run through his mind as he approached one record after another but he ensured he was never lost in the moment. His running between the wickets remained just as swift as it had been at the start of the innings. The humidity in Gwalior was bound to test him but he stood above it all and played like he owned the game, toying with the bowling with a mix of nonchalance and brute power.

In the 46th over, with a flick for two past short fine-leg, Tendulkar broke the record for the highest ODI score, going past the 194 made by Zimbabwe’s Charles Coventry and Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar, and to say that he acknowledged his feat modestly would be an understatement. His muted celebration on going past 194, true to style, made his innings all the more endearing. He didn’t raise his bat, merely shook hands with Mark Boucher and simply carried on batting amid the din. Coming from a man who is not known to showing too much emotion with the bat in hand, it wasn’t surprising. He reserved his celebrations for the magic figure of 200, which he reached in the final over with a squirt off Charl Langeveldt past backward point. He raised his bat, took off his helmet and looked up at the skies and it was only fitting that one-day cricket’s highest run-getter reached the landmark.

Tendulkar’s innings featured strokes of the highest quality, but his true genius was exemplified by one particular shot which rendered even the best bowler in the world helpless. In the first over of the batting Powerplay – taken in the 35th over – Dale Steyn fired it in the block-hole for three deliveries outside off to keep him quiet. Tendulkar, feeling the need to improvise, walked right across his stumps and nonchalantly flicked him across the line, hopping in his crease on one leg to bisect the gap at midwicket. A helpless Steyn watched the ball speed away and merely shrugged his shoulders. There was no use searching for excuses or venting frustrations at the temerity of that shot. It was just that kind of afternoon for the bowlers.

It wasn’t all just about the cheekiness of his shots. His timing and placement were the hallmarks at the start of his innings. On a road of a pitch which offered no margin of error for the bowlers, he squeezed out full deliveries past the covers and off his pads. With no seam movement on offer, Jacques Kallis took the slips off and placed them in catching positions within the 15-yard circle, hoping to induce a mistake. But Tendulkar outplayed all of them, making room to manoeuver it past a number of green shirts. There were a minimum of two runs on offer each time the ball was placed wide of them and the quick outfield did the rest.

Once he got his eye in, the short boundaries and the flat pitch were too inviting. Virender Sehwag’s dismissal for 11, caught at third man, was just an aberration as Karthik, Pathan and Dhoni traded cricket bats for golf clubs. Driving and lofting through the line had never been this easy. Tendulkar could have driven them inside out in his sleep.

The two century stands, with Karthik and then with Dhoni, may well get lost in the scorecard but they were vital building blocks. Karthik rotated the strike well in their stand of 194, struck three clean sixes and helped himself to his career-best performance. That partnership sent out ominous signs to the South Africans that they were in for something massive. Add Dhoni’s bludgeoning hits and scoops and you had a score in excess of 400.

Tendulkar reached his fifty off 37 balls and his century off 90. Ironically, he struck his first six – over long-on – when on 111. Pathan bashed it around at the other end, clubbing full tosses and short deliveries in his 23-ball 36, as India amassed 63 runs in the batting Powerplay. The South African seamers made the mistake of trying to bowl too fast and as a result, sent down too many full tosses and full deliveries. The unplayable yorkers remained elusive and Tendulkar, who was seeing it like a beach ball, picked the gaps, made room and improvised.

He reached his 150 by making room to Parnell and chipping him over midwicket with a simple bat twirl at the point of contact. The heartbreak of Hyderabad, when his scintillating 175 all but won India the match against Australia last year, must have lingered in his mind as he approached that score again. A towering six over long-on later, he not only eclipsed Kapil Dev’s 175 but also looked set to wipe out his own record. He started clutching his thighs, indicating that cramps had set in, but even that could not stop him today.

He equalled his highest score of 186 by pulling a lollipop of a full toss off Kallis and broke his own and India’s record with a single to square leg. Fortunately, he didn’t have to do much running and played the spectator’s role for a change as Dhoni bulldozed his way to a 35-ball 68, muscling four sixes. The Dhoni bottom-hand is the strongest in the business these days and the exhausted spectators had enough energy left in their vocal chords to cheer him on as well.

The record of 200, however, was yet to be attained and the crowd were desperate for Tendulkar to get the strike. Dhoni tore into Steyn for 17 off the 49th over and retained the strike for the 50th. After hammering the first ball of the 50th for six, he shoveled a full toss to deep midwicket where Hashim Amla made a brilliant save. Tendulkar settled for a single and the crowd were on their feet as they watched him make history. It was all the more fitting for another reason because it was on this very day, back in 1988, that he and Vinod Kambli added a mammoth 664 – then a world record – in a school match.

There was to be no repeat of the 434-chase at the Wanderers, when South Africa took guard, perhaps mentally and physically shaken after the assault, and with a partisan crowd to contend with. AB de Villiers‘ attacking ton got completely lost in the chase as South Africa merely went through the motions. It was all a question of how quickly India could wrap it up.

Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Roelof van der Merwe and Jacques Kallis all got out cheaply within the first 15 overs. de Villiers motored along at more than a run-a-ball, and collected 13 fours and two sixes. South Africa had to rely on the services of nine men to muster 200 – for India one man sufficed.

Tendulkar’s knock drew parallels with Brendon McCullum’s frenetic 158 in the IPL opener in Bangalore two years ago. The match was all about individual brilliance but not a contest. While such games are good in small doses, for one-day cricket to survive on the whole, it needs more contests between bat and ball.

Incongruously, India have risen to the top in a format some would accuse them of neglecting – and their low frequency of Tests could cause them to lose their crown sooner rather than later. They are only the third team, after Australia and South Africa, to reach the summit of the ICC’s Test rankings since they were introduced in 2001 but their time there could be brief because of a schedule that contains only two Tests in the next 11 months.
Which means the duration of their reign will be determined by how their closest rivals, South Africa and Australia, fare in the next few months. “It is a bit of a concern, as we play only two Test matches in the next six months, so it will be tough for us to maintain the position,” MS Dhoni said after India’s victory in Mumbai. “I can’t do anything about the schedule. It is good to play Test cricket, at the same time we are here to play whatever cricket we are asked to play.”
Before their 2-0 victory, India were ranked third with 119 points after Sri Lanka and chart-toppers South Africa (122). The two consecutive innings victories in Kanpur and Mumbai earned India five points, taking them two clear of South Africa, while Sri Lanka slipped below Australia to fourth place.
During the period in which India have only two Tests – against Bangladesh – to maintain a hold on their No. 1 position, South Africa play at least four and Australia eight. A 2-0 win against Bangladesh isn’t likely to give India too many ratings points either, so they could be overtaken depending on how South Africa do against England, and how Australia go against West Indies and Pakistan at home, and in the away series in New Zealand and against Pakistan in England.
What is certain is that India will end 2009 as the No. 1 Test side because even a 3-0 victory for Australia in the ongoing series against eighth-ranked West Indies will give them only one point, taking their tally to 117, and no improvement in position.
India’s immediate threat is South Africa, but they will have to beat England by a 2-0 margin or better to reclaim the No. 1 spot. A 2-0 or 3-1 victory for South Africa will take them marginally ahead of India, 3-0 will given them 126 points, and 4-0 will extend their lead over India by three. However, if England win 1-0 or 2-1, South Africa’s tally will reduce to 117, increasing India’s lead by seven points.
If South Africa fail to recapture the top spot against England, India’s reign will receive an extension because even if Australia blank Pakistan 3-0 at home, following a 3-0 win against West Indies, their ratings points will increase only by three to 119. They will then need to win in New Zealand and beat Pakistan in England – an away series for Australia – to move up the ladder.

India’s powerful batting line-up has often had to compensate for errant bowling and slack fielding in the past but the tables were turned in Mohali. MS Dhoni praised his bowlers for restricting Australia to 250; he said the fielding effort was India’s best in the last one-and-a-half years; but he criticised the batsmen for a lack of partnerships which ultimately led to a 24-run defeat in the fourth ODI.

“It was a good effort by the bowlers to restrict them to a total like 250,” Dhoni said. “We got a decent start to our chase also. But subsequently, we failed as a batting unit. We should have batted the full 50 overs but that was not possible because we kept losing wickets at regular intervals.”

Dhoni defended his decision to field, saying the dew factor would have made it difficult for the bowlers to grip the ball under lights. “Dew is a big factor that always plays on your mind. From overs 15-40, generally the spinners do the job for us. That would have been taking a risk. Of course, it can backfire as well, so it’s difficult to choose. But we knew in Mohali, the wicket would not break much and ball would come nicely onto the bat with a bit of dew. I think our bowlers did a great job and 251 is something we should have scored.”

India’s chase had a terrific start with Virender Sehwag caning Mitchell Johnson for 30 runs off 14 balls. Australia began to fight back after Sehwag fell but India were on course while Sachin Tendulkar was batting. However, his dismissal for 40 – the highest score of the innings – was the beginning of the end as wickets fell frequently thereafter.

“We badly needed some partnerships going,” Dhoni said. “We got the start but we could not take advantage of that. If at least one batsman got going, it would have made things easy.”

Dhoni also said the younger batsmen like Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli would need to learn how to overhaul a difficult target. “Raina today got out to a beautiful delivery, while Jadeja was run out after a mix-up,” Dhoni said. “Batting at No. 6 or 7 is not easy, since you don’t get much opportunity to bat. You cannot pace your innings either, for you have to play according to the platform given to you. Sometimes, you have to accelerate or keep a partnership going. They are still inexperienced and I hope they learn from their mistakes.”

On the decision to send Kohli at No. 3, Dhoni said: “The best way to give someone an opportunity is to let him bat higher. At No. 6 or 7, you score 20-30 in quick time or can get out for 10-12 also. I think it’s important to give them a chance. Virat is a talented batsman, good on the field and brings in lot of energy.”

India’s defeat in Mohali prevented them from taking Australia’s No. 1 ranking in ODIs and the gap between the teams is now three points. The next match is in Hyderabad on November 5.

India Will Miss Explosive Batsmans Spinning Skills Too

Another subdued practice session, another day of eerie silence. Team India is still coping with the unexpected loss of Yuvraj Singh and rejigging the middle order is on top of their list of priorities. However, with the Pakistan clash looming, the absence of Yuvrajs big-hitting talents could prove easier to tide over than his recently-developed skills as a part-time slow bowler.

yuvraj singh

Kevin Pietersens pie-chucker took two hat-tricks during the second edition of the Indian Premier League on South African soil and has bowled 194 overs in 56 games in the last two years. It is in the past year, though, that his bowling skills have gone up a notch as he bagged 12 wickets at 30.91. In the past 17 ODIs, he has even bowled his full quota of 10 overs twice, both away from home, at Christchurch and at Colombo, where he finished with a three-wicket haul against New Zealand at 3.10.
In Hamilton this year, he bowled nine overs in the fourth ODI at an economy rate of 4.44, picking up one wicket. Yuvrajs loopy tweakers have enabled MS Dhoni to play one specialist spinner in Harbhajan Singh more often than not and that luxury would have come in handy on a dry surface like at the Supersport Park in Centurion , where India play two crucial league games against Pakistan and Australia.
Now, either Yusuf Pathan or Suresh Raina will have to step up, with the only other part-time option being replacement Virat Kohli, who is expected to arrive only on Friday morning.
While Dhoni finds his hands tied on this fifth-bowler dilemma, there will be discussions aplenty on how to plug the yawning gap in the middle order. Dhoni might have to step up to the plate and return to his aggressive ways, but then who will play finisher as skillfully as the skipper has in the recent past Sachin Tendulkar too might have to attempt to play steadfastly throughout. Gambhir is back as opener but with Yuvrajs match-winning presence unavailable in the latter stages, will Dravid be under more pressure to up the ante
In the context of the upcoming Pakistan game, too, Yuvrajs absence acquires relevance. He was man of the series in Indias last full series against Pakistan. Besides , during the memorable 2003 World Cup game at Centurion, in a match made memorable by Sachin Tendulkars 98, Yuvraj had scored a crucial, unbeaten 50 as India successfully chased 273. The ground will miss his presence in this reprise of that big clash.
Incidentally, the batsmen is expected to stay back in South Africa for a while and has been advised rest.

India stumbled in pursuit of 156 under lights but MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina kept cool heads to steer them to a six-wicket win with 57 deliveries to spare and with it move to No. 1 in the ICC’s ODI rankings. New Zealand, after opting to bat, made a complete mess of things and ended up with 155, a total that briefly challenged India but eventually proved to be inadequate. With this loss, New Zealand crashed out of the tournament.

Inspired by their two most experienced bowlers, New Zealand refused to surrender without a scrap but their spirited effort on the field wasn’t enough to defend a modest target. Dinesh Karthik was removed early in the piece to bring Rahul Dravid to the crease but his comeback was a labored 45-ball 14, after which Sachin Tendulkar fell for 46. Raina joined Dhoni and finished off the chase with a calculated 72-run partnership.

Dravid endured a few testing moments as he adjusted himself to this format. Shane Bond was particularly quick and nasty in a hostile first spell, which included a fiery maiden sixth over, and repetitively tested Dravid with the short deliveries. Dravid negated Bond’s aggression with customary grit only to be trapped lbw by Jacob Oram.

Tendulkar came out full of intent and treated the sparse crowd to some stunning shots. He repeatedly whipped Mills across the line, deft of wrists, for boundaries and welcomed Ian Butler into the attack with a fierce cut behind point and the shot of the day – a stylish whip off the back foot to a ball that pitched back of a length. Daniel Vettori was hammered off the back foot as Tendulkar closed in on fifty, but a clever change of pace had him lobbing the simplest of chances to cover. The bowler, the batsman and the catcher couldn’t believe it.

Sixteen minutes later Yuvraj Singh moped off after he was beaten in flight to pop a catch when attempting to play another slog-sweep for four off Vettori. Raina eased the nerves a pinch by swinging Vettori for six and following up with three past midwicket, and continued to play with a perfect blend of aggression and smartness. His back-foot play was especially pleasing – he rocked back to pull anything even slightly off line – and backed himself to swing deliveries that had a bit of air. Dhoni was his composed self and put his head down to indulge in some good old-fashioned ones and twos. He helped steer the chase with a dependable innings, one devoid of any risks.

A cursory look at the New Zealand card would suggest an ordeal against pace on a juiced-up track in Australia or England, but the truth was they struggled against a tidy fast-bowling attack and failed to cope with Yuvraj. Having lost the toss, India turned in a committed display in the field to take to pieces a line-up woefully short on inspiration and effort. Once they had New Zealand at 19 for 3 they provided few escapes routes, and that was the deciding factor in the result.

India, led initially by Ashish Nehra before Yuvraj continued the carnage, were on top from the time the first wicket fell. Nehra set the tone for India’s domination with a lovely new-ball burst, in which he passed 100 ODI wickets. With his second ball, he beat Jesse Ryder’s loose shot across the line to hit him in front of leg stump and then removed Brendon McCullum with one that straightened and rapped the pads in front of middle.

Having watched an edge from Ross Taylor sneak through between slip and keeper, RP Singh held back the length and got Taylor nicking to Dhoni for 11. New Zealand’s worries against left-handers – Thilan Thushara has been a handful all tour – continued with a poor display. Such was their discomfiture against the left-arm variety that Yuvraj’s gentle slow turners soon looked like missiles.

Puttering along to 22 from 41 balls, helping put on 32 with Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill fell in Yuvraj’s first over. Barely settling in to see what Yuvraj could offer, or if the pitch would assist turn, Guptill stabbed at one and Dravid, at first slip, reminded all of his class as a catcher with his 194th pouch.

Elliott, who looked the only one capable of batting till the 45th over and beyond, was then incorrectly given out for 22 by Kumar Dharmasena down the leg side. Replays showed the ball brushed only his pads as he attempted to tickle it fine. New Zealand had reason to feel aggrieved, but their efforts at the start had been unforgivable. The rest of the New Zealand line-up made fleeting appearances and there was little let-up for them as Dhoni rotated his bowlers, with the top four providing the dividends. New Zealand will need to improve considerably if they are to live up to their No. 4 ranking and challenge teams in the Champions Trophy.

Zaheer Khan may be out of action due to shoulder injury for at least five months, but Indian coach Gary Kirsten insisted here on Monday that he is not losing sleep over it. For the upcoming series of matches, the former South African opening batsman is banking on Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar to make up for Zaheers absence.
The kind of performance Zaheer has shown in last couple of years is truly remarkable. His absence is a huge blow but we have pacers in the team who can also do the job and I have high hopes on them, Kirsten told TOI here on Monday.
Echoing Kirstens thoughts, chairman of the selection committee Krish Srikkanth said: Zaheer has been our main bowler in recent times and his record speaks for itself. We are certainly going to miss him. We dont have any other option if a bowler like him is injured. We have to accept this and move on.
Both Kirsten and Srikkanth however agreed that India has enough bench-strength to tackle this crisis. Bowlers like RP, Ishant, Nehra and Praveen are capable bowlers and can face any challenge. The Indian team is going to have a four-day camp from August 27 and we hope to sort out everything before the season starts in September, Kirsten said.
When asked if Ishant can carry the burden of expectations, more so in the absence of Zaheer , Kirsten said: We expected a lot from Ishant and he did produce some extraordinary performances in the last season. He is extremely talented and he is going to get better with every series. I am confident he is going to play a crucial role again.
Kirsten, who was here in the Capital with mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton to monitor the fitness regimen of eight Indian cricketers, went about his job in a professional manner. Both he and Upton kept updating their notebooks with the latest readings of players bip test.
Expectedly, these fitness reports will be tabled next week when the selectors meet to pick the teams for the Sri Lankan tri-series and Champions Trophy. Probably, this is the first time that the entire team will undergo fitness tests before a conditioning camp, that too at the start of the cricket season. Earlier, such fitness tests were conducted at the conditioning camp.
The second round of tests will be conducted on the remaining cricketers in Mumbai on Tuesday . We have to keep a track record of the fitness standards of the team. All the players are in good shape and we hope to start the season with a bang, Kirsten said.
The eight cricketers who attended the fitness test: Indian skipper MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Parveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina.

Trust the BCCI to remain silent just when you want it to speak up. The boards silence on crucial matters and its unprofessional handling of injury-related issues has again been highlighted by Zaheer Khans surgery in South Africa.
Zaheer injured his shoulder during the IPL, yet was selected for the World T20 in England. There was no subsequent update on the injury status. The tournament at best only aggravated the players problems and he was dropped for the four-match One-day series in the West Indies. Why was better care not taken to help Zaheer, the most crucial cog in Indias bowling wheel
Ever since the left-arm seamer fell on his shoulder playing for the Mumbai Indians in a game against Royal Challengers in May, the board has been silent. When we receive an update, well inform the media, is the usual line parroted by board officials. Well, heres the update: The bowlers shoulder has been operated upon and he is expected to be out of competitive cricket for the rest of 2009. Yet, there was no official word till late on Thursday night.
BCCIs official physiotherapist Nitin Patel had been monitoring Zaheer all the while and theres no word from him either. It is learnt that the physiotherapist has been asked to maintain silence on the issue till the BCCI deems it perfect to release the news. Even Mumbai Indians officials have no clue about Zaheers surgery!
TOI has repeatedly highlighted BCCIs unwillingness to hire world-class physiotherapists and trainers despite no shortage of finances. Recently, TOI had also pointed out how the Indian team doesnt have a full-time fitness trainer in their ranks following South African Greg Kings resignation in early 2008.
Creating mystery over injuries and maintaining secrecy is nothing new for the BCCI. They had kept everyone in the dark over the status of Virender Sehwags shoulder injury during the World T20 in England in June, leading to heated exchanges between skipper MS Dhoni and the media . Sehwag later underwent surgery in England.

The BCCIs demand for an independent anti-doping code lacks credibility and the unprofessional , bullyish manner in which it has rejected the World Anti-Doping Agencys (WADA) compliance requirements may lead to its alienation from the international sports community.
These are the views expressed by a cross-section of eminent ex-players in the wake of the Indian boards decision to stand by its players and refuse being a signatory to the WADAs whereabouts clause and, by extension, an internationally recognized, and mandatory, anti-doping umbrella.
There are also growing fears within the fraternity that the board has gone to unreasonable lengths to justify whimsical demands of the 11 Indian players in the ICCs anti-dope testing pool, directly tarnishing the sports image and raising concerns in the public domain about BCCIs ability and desire to combat the menace of doping. What is good for the entire sporting world is good for Indian cricketers and they are no exception to the law, is the general sentiment.
Unlike Monkeygate , or even the Mike Denness incident, the BCCI might find little public support for its stance here, feel many. The ICC became a WADA signatory in 2006 and is a party to the revised International Standard for Testing (IST) since Jan 1, 2009. On Sunday, the BCCI refused to abide by a WADA code which requires players to reveal their whereabouts three months in advance to enable surprise dope tests. All other cricket-playing nations apart from India have already signed within the July 31 deadline.
BCCI is used to arm-twisting a toothless ICC to get what it wants but this time it might have gone too far, argued former India player Ashok Malhotra . Why is it always BCCI which has problems Everyone from Roger Federer to Yelena Isinbayeva can be a signatory but not Sachin Tendulkar or MS Dhoni Ricky Ponting and Andrew Flintoff have all signed up despite reservations about privacy because it is the right thing to do. Dont the Sri Lankan or Pakistani players have security concerns The BCCIs bizarre schoolboy-bully behaviour will not be forever tolerated by ICC members even if the threat of a sponsor-pullout looms. Like FIFA, they can ask for minor modifications but this hostile stance is unwarranted . And the demand for ICCs own doping body is ridiculous and exposes a lack of perspective.
Importantly, this refusal by the worlds richest cricket board risks ICCs ejection from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and hampers its chances of globalising the sport through participation in events like the Olympics. It could also, if unresolved , lead to a ban on Team India participating in ICC events.
BCCI has not thought of the consequences because they are always used to getting their way. Doping issues are very relevant for cricket in this day and age, unlike earlier, said former India batsman Abbas Ali Baig, The demand for an independent dopecontrol body is not credible since we dont know what BCCI is doing to prevent use of unethical medical methods . If the code is intrusive, why has everyone else signed up I feel that BCCI is unsure if the code is indeed draconian and they are simply going by what players feel. Also, it is a total failure of communication since all this could have been sorted out long back.
Former player, coach and selector Madan Lal said, If our cricketers are not used to living like top-level athletes then they should learn. It is a responsibility on Indias part not to jeopardize any sports chances at international level. More should be done to enhance awareness levels among Board members and players because the public wants a clean sport.
Lals thoughts were echoed by Maninder Singh, former spinner, who said, It is unprofessional behaviour. Like FIFA, there is a gentler way of bringing things to the table in case of differences. Crickets entire international structure is now at risk.
Former captain Kapil Dev, though, while refusing comment on the nature of the WADA clause, told 22yards: Why arent these questions being asked to the eminent people associated with BCCI They must know what to do next.
Do they really Does even the ICC, so dependent on revenues generated from India, know With cricket already lurching from one crisis to another while trying to sustain spectator interest , this latest tantrum from BCCI is the last thing the sport needs. Cricket has had doping-related scandals before think Shane Warne, Mohd Asif and Shoaib Akhtar and international norms cannot be so brusquely brushed under the carpet.

The 30-member Indian pre-squad for the Champions Trophy has been announced and there have been a couple of surprises in the same. Rahul Dravid, who has not played a single ODI since October 2007 makes a reappearance while all-rounder Irfan Pathan is conspicuous by his absence.

Dravid had been out of the selection radar ever since the former chief selector, Dilip Vengsarkar had dropped him from the ODI squad in 2007 after he had had a rather low-scoring series against the Aussies.

Also in the squad is the presence of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Suresh Raina, and Munaf Patel, all of whom had been left out of the team to West Indies due to various reasons.

Some of the other players include Abhishek Nayar, M Vijay, S Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, and Ravindra Jadeja, who were also a part of the team to the West Indies, and some others like R Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh.

Irfan Pathan’s bad run of form means that he will need to get back his swing that he seemed to have lost after the initial burst which had seen him become only the second Indian to bag a hat-trick in a test match.

S.Sreesanth also loses out due to his troublesome back which has seen him being out of the squad ever since the previous year’s IPL.

30-member squad: MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, RP Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, M Vijay, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, S Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh.