By IANS
Mumbai : As was widely expected, the selectors Tuesday named flamboyant batsman-cum-wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni India’s captain for the first Twenty20 World Championship in September after Rahul Dravid had opted out.
The selectors also recalled Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh, all omitted from the team now playing the Test series in England, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced here.
Test and one-day international skipper Dravid, as also Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, had requested the board not to pick them for the championship in South Africa from September 10-24 while the selectors have rested pacer Zaheer Khan because of a bruised heel.
Dhoni will also be the vice-captain of the squad that will play seven One-day Internationals (ODIs) against England and a lone ODI against Scotland. Each squad has 15 players.
“He (Dhoni) is already vice-captain of the one-day team, so it’s no surprise that he was made captain for the Twenty20 championship,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told reporters.
The four selectors met here and panel chairman Dilip Vengsarkar was connected by telephone from England, where he is acting as part of the team management.
Twenty20 has 20 overs per side, and whether the recalled players make it to India’s next assignment – a home ODI series against world champions Australia in September-October – remains to be seen.
Yusuf Pathan, 24, is the lone player in the Twenty20 squad who has not represented India in an international match. He joins his younger brother Irfan, now touring Kenya and Zimbabwe with the India ‘A’ team, to make it a happy occasion for the Vadodara-based family.
They have thus become the first Indian brothers to be picked in the national Twenty20 squad.
Shah said that India ‘A’ coach Chandrakant Pandit told him that Irfan was bowling well in Kenya. “He can bat at No.7 and bowl. He is a good fielder also,” he said.
Yusuf will get a chance to warm up for the big event as he was named as a replacement for Robin Uthappa and Rohit Sharma, who will join the ODI team in England from Kenya. The other replacement is Praveen Kumar.
However, Mohammad Kaif, now leading the India ‘A’ side, and his Uttar Pradesh team-mate Suresh Raina continue to be ignored.
Yuvraj Singh, once seen as a future captain before Dhoni overtook him with his consistent performances, was named vice-captain of a team that also has Robin Utthappa, Ajit Agarkar and pacer Joginder Sharma, who has again got an opportunity to prove himself at the international level.
Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik and Piyush Chawla are the other prominent names in the squad.
There is only one change in the ODI squad. Fit-again lanky pacer Munaf Patel has replaced Sreesanth, whose bowling in the two Tests so far has been uneven.
Before the ODIs against England start in Southampton Aug 21, India will play a one-off ODI against Scotland in Glasgow Aug 16.
Squads:
For Twenty20 World Championship: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper), Yuvraj Singh (vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Irfan Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Robin Utthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Joginder Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth and Rudra Pratap Singh.
For ODIs vs. England and Scotland: Rahul Dravid (captain), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Robin Utthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Piyush Chawla, Rudra Pratap Singh and Munaf Patel.