Kumble/Sreesanth excluded for CT

Veteran legspinner Anil Kumble and Sreesanth, the young fast bowler, have been left out of India’s 14-man squad to contest the Champions Trophy at home next month. To the surprise of many, the lesser favoured RP Singh has earned a place in the squad.

Singh has struggled in recent one-day international appearances for India, while Sreesanth has been one of the brighter prospects in a young bowling attack. An economy rate of 5.71, however, may be a large part of the reasoning behind his exclusion.

RP Singh’s inclusion comes on the heels of some outstanding recent form for India ‘A’ in Australia.

While there was talk of a potential recall for Anil Kumble, his exclusion is less of a surprise. Kumble has not represented India in ODI cricket since August of last year, and is presently recovering from injury sustained whilst representing Surrey in county cricket. The selectors have deemed, as such, not to rush him back into action ahead of a busy season of cricket.

Discarded former captain, Sourav Ganguly has also missed out on selection in the 14.

India will face Australia, England and one of the qualifying teams in group A of the Champions Trophy draw. They take on England in their first match on October 15.

India Champions Trophy squad:
Rahul Dravid (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Ramesh Powar, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Mongia.