Related Links : Australia in India 2008/09
The Indian Cricket Board’s first paid Selection Committee has decided to retain Sourav Ganguly in the 15-man squad for the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in what was its first selection meeting. There was a lot of uncertainty about Ganguly keeping his place in the team after he was ignored for the Irani Trophy. The new committee headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth has gone in with 7 specialist batsmen, a wicket keeper, four pacers and three spinners. S Badrinath has been named in the squad and so is leggie Amit Mishra, who actually makes a comeback in the Indian team after five years.
The New Selection Committee comprises of Yashpal Sharma, Narendra Hirwani, Raja Venkat and Surendra Bhave who are headed by former Indian Captain Krish Srikkanth. Most likely, the Indian team management is likely to stick with six batsmen with Badrinath sitting out, MS Dhoni, two pacers in Zaheer, Ishant and two spinners with Amit Mishra missing out. The first Test is at Bangalore where the pitch is likely to be on the slower side.
The players who have been dropped from the last tour of Sri Lanka are the two wicket keeper Dinesh Karthik, Parthiv Patel, batsman Rohit Sharma and left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. Below is the 15-man India Squad for the first two Tests against Australia :
- Anil Kumble (Captain)
- Virender Sehwag
- Gautam Gambhir
- Rahul Dravid
- Sachin Tendulkar
- Sourav Ganguly
- VVS Laxman
- S Badrinath
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Wicket Keeper)
- Amit Mishra
- Harbhajan Singh
- Munaf Patel
- Ishant Sharma
- Rudra Pratap Singh
- Zaheer Khan