CHENNAI, India, (Reuters) – India recalled Rahul Dravid to the squad on Sunday for next month’s tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy in South Africa.
The former captain’s last one-day international appearance came in October 2007 before selectors opted for a more youthful side with an eye on the 2011 World Cup.
The tri-series in Sri Lanka, which also involves New Zealand, will be held from Sept. 8-14, while the Champions Trophy runs from Sept. 22-Oct. 5.
Indian selectors hope the 36-year-old will bolster the batting in the Champions Trophy on pacy South African pitches. A young Indian batting unit struggled against short-pitched bowling at the Twenty20 World Cup in England in June.
Sachin Tendulkar returned to the frame after opting out of the one-day series in the West Indies, which the tourists won 2-1 last month, but explosive opener Virender Sehwag will miss both tournaments after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Sehwag went under the knife in June for a shoulder tear that had sidelined him for the Twenty20 World Cup and Caribbean trip.
Left-hander Suresh Raina returned to the limited-overs squad after recovering from a thumb injury while leg-spinner Amit Mishra replaced left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.
Ishant Sharma will spearhead the five-man pace attack in the absence of experienced left-armer Zaheer Khan, who has been ruled out of action until the end of the year after undergoing surgery on an injured shoulder.
Team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra and Abhishek Nayar.
