Mumbai: Selectors today rested paceman Ishant Sharma and sprang a surprise by bringing Virat Kohli into the 16-member squad for the five-match one-day cricket series against Sri Lanka beginning on August 18. Ishant would be replaced by Munaf Patel in the series against Sri Lanka but would return for the September 12-28 Champions Trophy in Pakistan, a 15-member squad for which was also announced.
A refreshed Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who gave a miss to the Tests series underway in Sri Lanka, will lead the team which has been boosted by the return of Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan for the two series. But Parthiv Patel and Munaf Patel would be missing the Champions Trophy while middle order batsman Robin Uthappa, struggling to find form for sometime now, has been dropped along with Piyush Chawla and Yusuf Pathan.
S Sreesanth, who has recuperated from a shoulder injury, however, failed to make the cut for either of the two series. "Selectors have decided that Sreesanth will have to prove his match fitness by playing domestic cricket before being considered for selection," Shah said in a statement.
The 19-year-old Kohli had led the team to Under-19 World Cup glory earlier this year and also contributed 235 runs to the title win in Malaysia. He grabbed attention during his stint for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition. (PTI)
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