This battle is for keeps

As the national selectors sit to pick the Test squad for the Sri Lanka tour tomorrow, they will find in front of them two sets of players.

As the national selectors sit to pick the Test squad for the Sri Lanka tour tomorrow, they will find in front of them two sets of players. Ironically, those in the 30-plus range happen to be fresh after a break while the ones in the 20s happen to have just landed from Pakistan after a killing ODI schedule.

Picking the squad for the three-Test series later this month wouldn8217;t be the usual exercise of getting the right mix of youth and experience, as the challenge this time is to the find the right balance between the tried and the tired. For starters, with Dhoni ruling himself out of the Test series, the selectors have a job at hand 8212; to find a gloveman to replace him.

The chances of Parthiv Patel getting a nod after a long wait are bright with Dinesh Karthik too in the race. Parthiv, after a string of high scores at the Ranji, zonal and India A level last season, also had a decent run in the IPL.

For long, Patel has been on the national radar but the presence of Dhoni, with Karthik around as well, had made it tough for the former 8216;boy wonder8217; to make a comeback. Such has been the selectors8217; helplessness that after Patel missed out on the trip to Australia, the chairman of national selectors Dilip Vengsarkar called him up and asked him not to lose heart.

Another player, who has bad memories of that Bangalore meeting at the end of the final Test against Pakistan last year is opener Gautam Gambhir. Injury on the final day of the Test saw the sure-shot candidate miss the bus and this saw Virender Sehwag making a surprise recall. Though not quite getting the Test berth, Gambhir has remained in the headlines on the strength of his amazing run in the shorter versions. Since then, the Delhi opener has scored 908 ODI runs at an average of 56 and 503 T20 runs in the IPL.

These are credentials enough for him to be a Test opener. But that will also mean Wasim Jaffer, who retained his place for the South Africa series at home despite a forgettable outing Down Under, might find it tough to avoid the axe. But with Sehwag injured during the Asia Cup final, Jaffer can still make it to the squad.

In the context of the last Test series that India played 8212; against South Africa in April this year 8212; Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan will be re-drafted. Zaheer is expected to take injured pacer Sreesanth8217;s place while Tendulkar8217;s return might see Mohammad Kaif lose his spot again after warming the bench.

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The spin department will once again be led by skipper Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh though, the selectors are likely to have a discussion on the third spinner.

Injury not a worry: Sehwag

Virender Sehwag today joined the list of walking wounded in Team India. The in-form opener suffered right groin injury just prior to the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka. Sehwag confirmed that he was injured but said that it wasn8217;t a cause of concern. Speaking to The Indian Express he said, 8220;It is nothing major. Just before the final game during the warm ups, I got this injury. I will be back in action in 7 to 10 days.8221;

This means that Sehwag will miss the July 18 to 20 tour game that the Indian team is expected to play before the Test series that starts on July 23.