Tendulkar named for tri-series in Australia

Lanky Punjab spinner Rahul Sharma was also included but there were no major surprises in the ODI squad despite the team’s dismal performance in the ongoing Test series,which India is trailing 0-3.

Tendulkar,who played his last ODI in World Cup final on April 2,is the only batsman who seems to be in good nick and will get an opportunity to record a historic 100th international century.

Of late,Tendulkar has not been playing the ODIs and has generally skipped most of the bilateral series in the last two years.

The ODI batting line-up more or less remain the same with Virender Sehwag,Gautam Gambhir,Virat Kohli,Rohit Sharma,Suresh Raina and Manoj Tiwary retaining their places.

Zaheer Khan will spearhead the bowling attack which has Umesh Yadav and Vinay Kumar as the other pacemen.

Ishant Sharma,who figures in the Test team,was not considered for the shorter format as he is regarded more as a Test bowler.

R Ashwin and Rahul Sharma are the two specialist spinners while all rounder Ravindra Jadeja can also chip in with his spin.

Yuvraj Singh,who is still recovering from a lung ailment and injured Harbhajan Singh were not considered for selection. Varun Aaron and Munaf Patel were also not considered because of injuries.

The Indians are scheduled to play two Twenty20 matches on February 1 and 2,followed by the tri-series,also involving Sri Lanka,from February 5.

ODI and T20 squad: M S Dhoni (C),Virender Sehwag (VC),Sachin Tendulkar,Gautam Gambhir,Virat Kohli,Rohit Sharma,Suresh Raina,Ravindra Jadeja,R Ashwin,Unesh Yadav,Praveen Kumar,R Vinay Kumar,Manoj Tiwary,Rahul Sharma,Parthiv Patel,Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan.