Yuvraj named in India squad for Oz series

Chennai: The five wise men of Indian cricket took a little over an hour on Monday to hand Yuvraj Singh a chance to resurrect his ODI career. The left-hander has been included in the 15-man squad that will take on Australia in a T20 and ODI series at home. M.S. Dhoni was named skipper of the side. The selection is only for the one-off T20 and first three ODIs. Even though the selectors paved the way for Yuvi's comeback, they weren't yet ready to welcome Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir back, understandably so as a result of the Delhi duo's prolonged poor form. In what might have been a close call, the selectors decided to shut the door on wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik and replaced him with Yuvraj. After amassing 337 runs in five List ‘ A’ matches at an average of 67.40, Yuvraj no doubt deserved his place. The selection committee retained 28-year-old Ambati Rayudu, who has an impressive average of 50.50, for the series. Rayudu’s presence meant there was no place for either Sehwag or Gambhir. Reinforcing the unwritten rule that no one in the team can take his spot for granted, pacer Umesh Yadav, who was part of the successful Champions Trophy team, was dropped following his mediocre show in the NKP Salve Challenger trophy. Leftarm seamer Jaydev Unadkat, Bengal pacer Mohammed Shami and the experienced Vinay Kumar have been given an extend ed run taking into account their consistent performances in Zimbabwe and ances in Zimbabwe a for India `A'. As expect ed, R. Ashwin, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Bhuvneshwar Kumar have made their way back into the team after being after being rested for the Zimbabwe series. Unadkat’ s second show DC / Moulin Parikh Midway through the IPL-6, Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Ray Jennings had predicted that left-arm speedster Jaydev Unadkat would make a strong comeback into the Indian team in 18 months. The Porbandar-born lad not only proved his coach right and exceeded expectations by not only making it to the young Indian side for the Zimbabwe tour but on Monday, he was also retained in the squad for the home series against Australia.Unadkat, who fell off the radar after his debut Test in Centurion in 2010, is now reaping fruits of hard work. He picked up eight wickets in five ODIs in Zimbabwe, five wickets on India's A tour to South Africa and eight wickets against West Indies A at home including a five-for. “I am happy for my selection and I am looking forward to do well,“ said Unadkat about his selection. The young bowler said that Zimbabwe tour gave him a lot of confidence. “ I also got a five-for against West Indies `A' and I think playing in Zimbabwe helped me. I got to know more about my ability at the highest the level and in limited-overs after that tour.“Unadkat credited the turnaround in his performance to his improved fitness. Earlier this year, he had impressed many with a charged-up performance (32 73-0) in the Ranji finals against Mumbai. “I had worked hard on my fitness and that match was a testimony of my efforts. It was the 11th timony of my efforts. It was the 11th match of the season and despite playing all, I was still feeling strong from inside.“ The Saurashtra bowler said he focussed on endurance training, a process that he is following for two seasons now.