Leg-spinner Anil Kumble and seamer Ajit Agarkar have been included in the 15 member Indian squad for the three-Test series against Pakistan starting in Multan on Sunday next.
Opener Akash Chopra has also been chosen for the series. But the other injured bowler, offspinner Harbhajan Singh, has been ruled out because he is yet to recover fully, S K Nair, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and convener of the national selection committee, announced in New Delhi today.
Mumbai off-spinner Ramesh Powar and middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh have also been named in the squad for the historic series.
Off-spinner Sarandeep Singh's name was also discussed, Nair revealed, but with the veteran Kumble fit, there was no room for him.
Kumble and Agarkar, who are making comebacks from injuries picked up on the gruelling tour of Australia, have been issued fitness certificates by the board's sports medicine specialist, Dr Anant Joshi. They will leave for Lahore from New Delhi on Wednesday, March 24.
The selectors had a teleconference with team coach John Wright and captain Sourav Ganguly and selected the team in consultation with them, Nair said.
Chairman of selectors S M H Kirmani told rediff.com, "The team selected is the best available team in the country. We are very happy with the performance of the Indian team in the current one-day series in Pakistan."
The squad: Sourav Ganguly (c), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid (v-c), V V S Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Akash Chopra, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, L Balaji, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Parthiv Patel (wk), Ramesh Powar, Murali Kartik.
(With additional inputs from Onkar Singh in New Delhi)
