da dobrowin： Mohammad Kaif and VRV Singh have been included in the Indian squad for the final two ODIs against Sri Lanka
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan06-Nov-2005
Mohammad Kaif returns for the final two matches against Sri Lanka © Getty Images
Mohammad Kaif has been included in the Indian side for the final two games of theone-day series while VRV Singh, the fast bowler from Punjab, forced his way into theside as well. The selectors decided to choose them ahead of Venugopal Rao and JaiPrakash Yadav, the allrounder, for the rest of the series, which India have alreadyclinched.While not divulging details about the meeting, Kiran More, the chairman ofselectors, said, “It was a tough call but Kaif is an outstanding cricketer and VRVSingh has done well in the Challenger Trophy. We are looking to create a healthycompetition in the side and everyone has to perform.”He wasn’t willing to reveal if the selectors had discussed Sourav Ganguly’s futureand added, “Any cricketer can make a comeback and we haven’t ruled anyone out.”Kaif was laid low by a hamstring injury, which he sustained during the final of theChallenger Trophy in Mohali, and missed the initial part of the series. However, heproved his fitness while playing for Central Zone, against West, in the DuleepTrophy clash at Aurangabad and expectedly earned a recall.For VRV Singh, who many regard is the fastest bowler in the country, it has been a rapid rise and a reward for some consistentperformances. After a fine debut season last year, when he earned the praise of VVSLaxman and other domestic batting stars, he impressed in the Challenger Trophy atthe start of this season.The omission of Rao and Yadav is surprising from a few angles but More, as well andGreg Chappell and Rahul Dravid earlier, insisted that they are trying to try out asmany players as possible. However, as Ganguly has found out recently, both may findit tough to get back into the side if the replacements strike gold.Squad for the last two games Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, GautamGambhir, Rahul Dravid (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, S Sreesanth, RP Singh, VRV Singh