India's selectors on Wednesday recalled hard-hitting opening batsman Virender Sehwag for an upcoming Test series in Australia. The 29-year-old got the nod following make-shift opener Dinesh Karthik's inconsistent form in the just-concluded Test series against Pakistan.
Sehwag has so far scored 4,155 runs in 52 Tests with 12 centuries. The four-Test series begins in Melbourne on December 26. Teenage paceman Ishant Sharma and newcomer Pankaj Singh were also named in a 16-man squad to be led by Anil Kumble, announced Indian cricket board secretary Niranjan Shah. India won their first Test series against Pakistan at home since 1980 under Kumble, leading the side for the first time.
"It's a great comfort to know that all of your batsmen are in good form and this is the best-prepared side to tour Australia," said Kumble. Sharma, 19, was rewarded for his five-wicket haul in the drawn third and final Test against Pakistan.
India will yet again rely on their famed middle order, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Venkatsai Laxman, to test Australia in home conditions. They played big roles when India drew a four-Test series on their last tour of Australia four years ago under Ganguly. India named just two spinners -- Kumble and Harbhajan Singh -- as the selectors ignored Murali Kartik who gave a good account of himself in a recent one-day home series against Australia and Pakistan.
India will also play a triangular one-day series in Australia, also featuring World Cup runners-up Sri Lanka. The one-day squad will be named later.
India Test squad:
Anil Kumble (capt), Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Venkatsai Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Pankaj Singh.
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