Dravid, Ishant benched for Oz ODIs?

[bobbydhillon]

ishant and pathan should be dropped. sehwag should come back and yuvi should be dropped too

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Yuvraj won’t be fit from series’ start Yuvraj Singh, who fractured his right little finger days before the start of India’s campaign in the recent Champions Trophy, is unlikely to be fit from the start of the ODI series against Australia. More... Yuvraj won’t be fit from series’ start LOKENDRA PRATAP SAHI Munaf Patel is set for a comeback Calcutta: Yuvraj Singh, who fractured his right little finger days before the start of India’s (disastrous, as it turned out) campaign in the recent Champions Trophy, is unlikely to be fit from the start of the ODI series against Australia. The seven-match affair gets under way in Vadodara on October 25 and will conclude in Mumbai on November 11. “Yuvraj may be available for the second ODI (October 28, in Nagpur), but definitely not the first,” a well-placed source told The Telegraph on Wednesday evening. That could get the selectors out of a sticky situation, as Krishnamachari Srikkanth and his colleagues (Yashpal Sharma, Narendra Hirwani, Surendra Bhave, Raja Venkat) have been losing sleep over senior pro Rahul Dravid. When there’s uncertainty over Yuvraj, they won’t be forced to drop the 36-year-old Dravid, who’d been recalled for the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy. Dravid had been off ODIs for almost two years. The picture will be clear when Srikkanth and Co. meet in Chennai on Thursday morning, to pick XIV for (as of now) the first three ODIs against the world champions. Among batsmen, Virender Sehwag will be back in the India dressing room after many months. Also making a return would be medium-pacer Munaf Patel, in all likelihood at Rudra Pratap Singh’s expense. Ishant Sharma may keep his place, but just about. Most of the experts, though, feel he should be kept away from limited overs cricket. For the time being, that is. The Champions Trophy squad had two all-rounders — Yusuf Pathan and Abhishek Nayar. The former is set to be omitted, while the latter seems to be under pressure from Ravindra Jadeja. Speaking of pressure, leggie Amit Mishra is facing some heat from left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. A bit strange, but that’s the reality at this point in time. Incidentally, young Virat Kohli (Yuvraj’s replacement in the Champions Trophy), MoM in the last ODI, will this time be there as a full-fledged member. The ‘Replacement Man’ tag has been shaken off. Meanwhile, there were whispers that Sachin Tendulkar could take a break, specifically in the first three matches, but without basis. “All that talk is absolute rubbish… Sachin has been training very hard and there’s no question of making himself unavailable,” is what a confidant said, speaking exclusively. Clearly, the senior-most pro remains hungry. Expected XIV FOR FIRST 3 ODIs Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid/Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli; Mahendra Singh Dhoni; Abhishek Nayar/Ravindra Jadeja; Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra/ Pragyan Ojha; Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar. Dark horse: Sudeep Tyagi

[Texy]

PLEASE retire RD from odis....enough is enough...

[Sachinism]

Nice to see Yuvi will be fit