Mendis out,but only for now

Unorthodox Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis,who picked up a record 26 wickets in his debut series when the Indians toured Sri Lanka in July-August 2008....

Unorthodox Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis,who picked up a record 26 wickets in his debut series when the Indians toured Sri Lanka in July-August 2008,may not be part of the 16-man squad announced for the upcoming three-Test series on Friday,but his participation at a later stage in the series cannot be ruled out.

Mendis last played a Test against India at Kanpur in November,where he finished with figures of two for 162,and was also left out of the Asia Cup squad last month. In eight Tests,following his dream debut against India,Mendis has picked up just 18 wickets. That a far cry from his 17 wickets in the 2008 Asia Cup,which included a spell of 6/13 in the final.

Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan,who is retiring after the first Test at Galle,left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and young off-spinner Suraj Randiv are the slow bowlers picked for the series. However,chief national selector Aravinda de Silva confirmed to The Indian Express that Mendis remained in the scheme of things.

We have three front line spinners in the squad,including Muralitharan. So we did not include Mendis for the first Test. He is not part of the Test squad announced today but he could be picked for the second and third Test. Murali is retiring after the Galle Test and we are definitely looking at playing Mendis after that, de Silva said.

Rahul Dravid exuded confidence in the run-up when asked about the threat posed by Mendis. He was completely new to us when we toured Sri Lanka last time. He got the measure our team last time,there is no doubt about it. He played a major role in the series. But hopefully,we have learnt our lesson. I think we played him pretty well when he came to India, Dravid has said.

However,de Silva believes that Mendis still has the potential to play a big role in the series. I dont agree that he doesnt remain a mystery bowler anymore. The Indian batsmen could once again struggle against Mendis if he bowls to his potential. He had a great debut series and that performance is difficult to replicate but it does not mean he isnt Test material anymore.

Incidentally,when Mendis was excluded from the Asia Cup squad last month,de Silva was quoted as saying that it was for tactical reasons.

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A notable inclusion in the side is fast bowler Lasith Malinga,who hasnt played a Test in over two-and-a-half years. Malinga last played a Test against England in Galle in December 2007. He was was out of action with a knee injury. He returned to international cricket in February 2009.

The Kumar Sangakkara-led squad has seven specialist batsmen,including 20-year-old Lahiru Thirimanne who is yet to play a Test.

Squad: K Sangakkara capt,M Muralitharan,T Dilshan,T Paranavitana,M Jayawardene,T Samaraweera,A Mathews,P Jayawardene,L Malinga,R Herath,D Fernando,D Prasad,S Randiv,T Kandamby,C Welegedara,L Thirimanne.