Sport

Ishant ruled out of first Test, R.P. Singh is back

— Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

THE THINK-TANK: Selectors Venkatapathy Raju and Sanjay Jagdale along with Anil Kumble, selection committee Chairman Dilip Vengsarkar and BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah in Bangalore on Monday.

Bangalore: Ishant Sharma is the notable absentee in the 14-member Indian squad for the first two Tests of the three-Test series against South Africa.

The BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah, while announcing the Anil Kumble-led squad here on Monday, said: “Ishant needs more rest and has been ruled out of the first Test. In case he recovers, we might consider him for the second Test.”

The first Test will be played in Chennai from March 26 to 30 and the second at Ahmedabad from April 3 to 7.

Ishant, who tested Ricky Ponting and company during the recent Australian tour and drew praise from a bevy of players ranging from Steve Waugh to Javagal Srinath, has been nursing a toe and forefinger injury.

He attended a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy here on Sunday and the verdict is that he needs “more rest.”

Meanwhile, Yuvraj Singh, who attended the fitness test at the NCA on Monday, has been selected.

Harbhajan Singh, who failed to turn up, has been selected with a conditional clause — he and vice-captain M.S. Dhoni have to attend a fitness test at the NCA on March 21.

“In case Harbhajan and Dhoni fail to clear the fitness test, Piyush Chawla and Dinesh Karthik would be their replacements,” said Shah.

Fitness woes continued to plague the squad as left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, who was selected as the third spinner, is now a doubtful starter.

Kartik twisted his left ankle during the Deodhar Trophy match here while playing for Central against North.

Dr. Chetan Rai of HOSMAT Hospital, where Kartik’s ankle was scanned, said: “Murali Kartik has suffered a complete ligament tear in his left ankle. It is a Grade III injury and it will take minimum three weeks to heal. He will have to be out of action during that duration. After three weeks, he will have to be re-assessed and only then the final date of recovery can be decided.” Shah said that Piyush was the standby for Kartik. However, when queried on whether there would be one more spinner lined up in case both Kartik and Harbhajan were not fit, Shah kept on repeating Piyush’s name.

Asked about the non-appearance of Harbhajan at the NCA for his tests on Monday morning, Shah said: “the confusion is with the media, we are clear. He could not come. We have now called him on March 21.”

Left-arm seamer R.P. Singh made it to the team after recovering from a right hamstring injury.

The rest of the squad is on expected lines though the Dilip Vengsarkar-led selection committee reiterated its faith in opener Wasim Jaffer while overlooking the claims of Gautam Gambhir.

“I won’t take any questions on selection,” said Shah when asked about Gambhir.

Kumble and new coach Gary Kirsten were also present at the selection committee meeting.

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