Badri: Back by default again

Then last month, Lady Luck finally smiled on Badri as an injury to Sachin Tendulkar saw him get a place in the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series. And as it turns out, in Vengsarkar8217;s final days as the chairman of the national selection committee, Badri has now been picked in the Irani Cup squad. Once again, the reason for this late-inclusion is Tendulkar8217;s lack of fitness.

Being in the Irani Cup squad is no guarantee that Badri will make it to the Test squad for the Australia series to be announced next month, but one thing is clear: The middle-order batsman attracted the selectors8217; attention by his consistent show on the domestic circuit. Equations will change with the formation of a new selection panel and it will be interesting to see if Badri8217;s new found status is permanent.

When news about Tendulkar8217;s dodgy elbow surfaced on Friday, several cricketers would have fancied themselves as the likely replacement. Among those were Rohit Sharma, who was part of the Test squad that toured Sri Lanka and Suresh Raina after his convincing show in the Sri Lanka ODI series.

But with Badri heading to Baroda now for the September 24-28 game, it is clear that the selectors place him high on the waiting list of second stringers.

When the all-important call came to Badri on Saturday, he couldn8217;t take it since he was busy training for the India A versus New Zealand A game on Sunday. 8220;Vengsarkar had called me, but I couldn8217;t take his call. So he called our coach Dav Whatmore, who relayed the news to me,8221; Badrinath told The Indian Express.

Speaking about the importance of inclusion in the squad, he said, 8220;It feels great that finally my performances have led me somewhere. I did well for India 8216;A8217; and this is definitely a result of that. Now what I need to do is to score well in such opportunities.8221;

After the selectors were blamed for ignoring Badri all these years, they have given him that all-important chance while being on their way out. Now it is up to Badri to take make the best of this opportunity.

Shikhar back in Delhi squad

New Delhi: Shikhar Dhawan, who missed the Mohammad Nissar Trophy and the India A Test series due to a thumb injury, will join the Delhi team for their Irani Cup tie against the Rest of India at Vadodara starting September 24.

Dhawan will replace Gaurav Chhabra from the 15-member Delhi squad that was selected for the Mohammad Nissar Trophy.

8220;Dhawan has confirmed his availability for the Irani Cup and will replace Gaurav Chabbra,8221; Chetan Chauhan, chairman of selectors said on Saturday.