Yuvraj back in the mix

Yuvraj Singh has been India's best batsman in one-day cricket recently © Getty Images

Buy this photo

Yuvraj Singh has been included in India's one-day international squad for the final two games of the four-match series against West Indies.

The news will be a boost for the hosts, who have struggled without the all-rounder's presence in the middle-order since he was sidelined with a knee ligament injury sustained while training in Mohali during the ICC Champions Trophy in October.

He and Anil Kumble replace Rudra Pratap Singh and Joginder Sharma in the 15-man squad, with Irfan Pathan also set to join the party for the final game in Baroda.

Chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar said: “Yuvraj has been declared fit by John (Gloster) and he will play in Chennai.

“At the moment (Irfan Pathan) is playing for Baroda in the Ranji semi-final and he can only come for the last match. He is bowling extremely well.

“I spoke to the Mumbai coach yesterday about his bowling in the semi-final.

"He said he bowled well. And he has bowled well in all games, bowled a lot of overs for Baroda, he has got his rhythm back and so we have included him.”

However, there is still no place in the squad for out-of-form Virender Sehwag, who was dropped after poor performances on the tour of South Africa.

“Sehwag I think will have to wait for a while,” said Vengsarkar. “We have to see the performances of the players who are playing now. Then we will decide.”

Another ongoing debate surrounds the job of keeping wicket. After a match-winning performance by Dinesh Karthik in the second one-dayer, pressure is now mounting on the selectors to choose between the understudy and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who himself is struggling with the bat.

However, Vengsarkar brushed aside the debate and has instead opted to play a waiting game.

“Karthik is a good batsman," he said. "He has done well in the last few matches as a batsman. He is also a very good fielder. Who will keep wicket, we will have to wait and see.

India squad

Rahul Dravid (captain), Ajit Agarkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Sourav Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Ramesh Powar, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Sachin Tendulkar, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan (final match only).