A spate of injuries to Test regulars and Indias humiliating defeat at Nagpur has seen ODI specialist Suresh Raina getting his big break in the longer format of the game. With the national selectors keen to strengthen the batting line-up,Raina is joined by wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik,who scored two tons in the Duleep Trophy final after getting dropped following the Bangladesh tour. Karthiks inclusion means Wriddhiman Sahas one-Test stint ended without him wearing the keeping gloves. Ironically,he was dropped within hours of playing a fighting knock of 36 from 101 balls where he frustrated the South Africans during their victory march. With the intention of giving skipper MS Dhoni more quality options in the pace department,S Sreesanth gets into the side. This means rookie pacers Abhimanyu Mithun and Sudeep Tyagi axed from the squad will have to wait for their chance to get a Test cap. Raina has been eyeing a Test spot for some time now and he said he would make the most of this chance. I am quite pleased with my inclusion. It has been a childhood dream to represent India in Test cricket and I will work hard to deliver the goods. It will be wonderful to make my debut against South Africa,that too in India. I have been around Indian cricket for a while now,so in a way it was expected. Raina had a good run in the Duleep Trophy for Central Zone,chipping in with scores like 98,22,59 in three innings. I wasnt really disappointed at being left out from the Nagpur Test. I knew that I had been giving consistent performances in the past and it was a just matter of time that I would be considered for Tests, he told The Indian Express from Indore. The Indian team are not playing many Tests this year,so I need to capitalise on this opportunity. Like always,my aim will be help my team win. Even though India were squarely beaten in the opener,Raina said an Indian fightback was certain in the second Test,The South Africans are tough to beat,but so are India at home. We cant say the Indian team is weak because of one loss. We have some great players in the side and I am sure they will be looking for a win in Kolkata. India will certainly make a comeback in the series. Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain),Virender Sehwag,Gautam Gambhir,Murali Vijay,Sachin Tendulkar,VVS Laxman,S Badrinath,Harbhajan Singh,Amit Mishra,Zaheer Khan,S Sreesanth,Ishant Sharma,Pragyan Ojha,Dinesh Karthik and Suresh Raina.
