Fringe players take centre stage

One positive to come out of the recent spate of injuries to key Indian players was the emergence of the fringe cricketers. Parthiv Patel and Ravindra Jadeja made impressive returns to Team India fold,while first-timer Ajinkya Rahane showed that he belonged.

With a few India regulars still recuperating,the trio are likely to get more opportunities,as should several other second-rung players,when the selection committee meets in Chennai on Thursday to pick the 15-man squad for the first two ODIs against England.

It is also learnt that two of the three middle-order fringe players — Manoj Tiwary,Subramanium Badrinath and Saurabh Tiwary are likely to be picked for the ODI series.

Fast bowler Varun Aaron,who didn’t get a single game in England,might just retain his place,while Ashok Dinda and S Aravind,too,are in contention for a spot in the pacer department,according to sources. The selectors might also recall left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra,who hasn’t played after injuring his finger in the World Cup.