Conventional wisdom rules India A selection

Point this out to the chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar and he says: 8220;We are often blamed for sidelining conventional openers. Hope there will be no complains this time.8221;

Pujara hit headlines when he became the highest run-getter in the Under-19 World Cup but his classical stroke play saw him stand out in the longer version too. But in this age of utility players and ad hoc experiments at the top, he has often been a stand-in opener.

During India A8217;s tour to Zimbabwe and Kenya he was regularly replaced by Parthiv Patel 8212; wicketkeeper openers were the flavour of the season then.

Chopra too made way for a more flashing opener after his forgettable outing against Australia at home in 2003-04. Gautam Gambhir had more strokes but was certainly less solid. Since then8212;barring Wasim Jaffer8212;Indian openers haven8217;t believed in merely 8216;taking the shine off the ball8217;.

Vengsarkar doesn8217;t believe Chopra has been dusted up because of the year-ending tour to Australia, where the Delhi opener8217;s stone-walling was seen as a big factor in India8217;s impressive show. 8220;We picked Chopra because he had an impressive domestic season. We want to have a look at him. Both conventional openers are equipped to face quality South African pace bowling,8221; he said, while insisting that this is an exercise to increase the players8217; pool ahead of a jam-packed international calendar.

Maybe, Chopra and Pujara will end up fighting for third opener8217;s slot in the Test squad for the Australian tour.

Composition vital: Vengsarkar

The chairman of national selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar, said that picking the India A squad wasn8217;t just about listing the top 15 fringe players, since the composition of the team too is vital. And that, he said, explained the exclusion of the likes of Ranadeb Bose and Rajesh Powar and inclusion of Ashraf Makda and Amit Mishra. 8220;We wanted a left-arm pacer in the side and so Makda was included while Mishra8217;s leg spin too was important to the balance of the team,8221; he said.

BACK IN RECKONING

Aakash Chopra Delhi: 8220;I am really happy to get the call-up. In fact I was expecting it. You see I was among the highest run-getters last season and got a century against Sri lanka A side. So I knew my time will come for sure and I just have to latch on itiquest; It was a touch-and-go case for me in the last three series. I was close to getting a India call, so I think I am right if I was expecting an India A call-up. I thought it would come in the Kenya-Zimbabwe tour but I am happy that I am back in the fold.8221;

This call-up means Chopra8217;s season in England club cricket will come to an end a week early.

Suresh Raina UP: 8220;This is a good chance for me to make a comeback to Team India. I have been working on my fitness and training regularly for five months. I have been doing a lot of meditation and my fitness level and fielding has improved a lot. I am happy and just want to concentrate on my game now. I want to make a good comeback and help India win the tour. There are many more matches coming up and I hope I will perform well.8221;

Manoj Tiwari Bengal: 8220;It feels good to be back in the reckoning. With so many talented young batsmen playing now, a loss of few months Tiwari was out of action after a freak shoulder injury sets you back by a long way. Cheteswar Pujara and Rohit Sharma are playing really well. I need to do well in this seriesiquest; We have two big series against Australia and Pakistan coming up. If I can do well here, who knows I can again get a chance to be with the national team.8221;

Ashraf Makda Gujarat: 8220;It8217;s a very special moment for me, though I was expecting to don national colours one day, I didn8217;t expect it to come now. And to be selected against South Africa is really momentous Makda had played in South Africa before he returned to India in 2003. But there is no room for any emotion to creep in. I will play competitive, aggressive cricket. In fact, having known their style of play, it should help me.8221;

With inputs from GS Vivek in London, P Sujesh Rajan and Swarup Kar Purkayastha in Ahmedabad and Ayon Sengupta in Kolkata