The 35-year-old left-arm seamer last played for India in the Test series against England last December before being discarded due to form and fitness issues.
The two have been unfaithful mistresses to the cricketer during an illustrious 13-year career spanning 88 Tests which sees him on the verge of becoming just the second fast bowler after the legendary Kapil Dev to pick up 300 Test wickets. He is five short of that mark and with the conditions in Johannesburg and Durban the venues for the first (Dec 18-22) and second Tests (Dec 26-30th) being bowler-friendly, one can expect him to get there. Clearly, after being omitted from the pool of players who bagged central contracts, this is a much-needed fillip to the pacer.
Zaheer, in the past, has been referred to as the 'Tendulkar of fast bowling' by Indian skipper MS Dhoni simply because of the guidance he offers to the fast bowlers from mid-off and mid-on where he would do more than just shine the ball.
Indeed, bowlers like Ashok Dinda and Ishant Sharma have gone on record praising the veteran seamer for his inputs. On Monday, Umesh Yadav, who will be on that flight to South Africa too, stressed on the importance of having Zaheer on the tour. Apart from his recent record in domestic games (13 wickets in three matches including a five-for against Delhi), Zaheer also has a good record against South Africa, especially skipper Graeme Smith, and clearly with the bowling attack still young and raw, the selectors have opted for his experience. Ishant Sharma was a surprise inclusion though as he endured a horror ODI series against Australia.
There was no place though for southpaw opener Gautam Gambhir. The Delhi batsman, who hasn't played for India after the ODI series against England in January, was expected to make the cut as reserve opener, but the selectors clearly aren't impressed with his recent run of healthy scores in Ranji Trophy and want him to knock the door harder. Ambati Rayudu makes the cut as a reserve batsman which swells the list to 17 players. How many of them will be required for such a short trip though is anyone's guess.
Bengal's Wriddhiman Saha will be the reserve wicket-keeper on the tour while Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin will compete for the spinners' slots. It means Amit Mishra gets the boot from the Test side.
Test Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Wriddhiman Saha, Zaheer Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha
ODI Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra.
0 comments:
Post a Comment