Ishant may stay back for ODIs

Sunday January 20, 01:46 AM

Ishant Sharma's showing in Perth might see him extend his stay in Australia. He might replace injured pacer Zaheer Khan in the ODI squad for the tri-series to be announced on Sunday. The national selectors have also decided that the team for the one-off Twenty20 game against the Aussies will be picked from the ODI squad. Uttar Pradesh pacer Praveen Kumar's brilliant spell in the Ranji final will see him retain his place the squad, according to chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar, who spent a busy afternoon watching the Ranji final at Wankhede and the Perth Test (on television) simultaneously.

Vengsarkar also said that he was informed by new NCA director Dav Whatmore that pacers Sreesanth and Munaf Patel were fit. That could mean Sreesanth flying to Australia. But the same can't be said about Munaf - lack of match practice could see the enigmatic pacer missing out.

While no major changes are anticipated, an interesting aspect of the selection will be the decision on Rahul Dravid. The former captain was dropped from the ODI side because of poor form during Australia's tour of India last year. But it remains to be seen if Dravid's 93 in the first innings in Perth will see him make a return to the ODIS.