Date:07/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/07/stories/2008110754911900.htm

Sport - Cricket

Vijay included for England series

NAGPUR: Sachin Tendulkar will be rested from the opening three matches of the seven-game ODI cricket series against England starting next week.

Tendulkar has not played a ODI since the tri-series victory over Australia in March, but the selectors granted his wish for a break.

“Considering the hectic schedule ahead and the amount of cricket he has already played this season, Sachin Tendulkar requested that he be rested for the first three ODIs,” the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, N. Srinivasan, said in a statement here on Wednesday. “The selectors accepted his request,” he said.

Murali Vijay, the Tamil Nadu batsman who has been included in the fourth-Test squad, was also included along with Gautam Gambhir.

The squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt.), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Rudra Pratap Singh, Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay. — AP