NZ ODIs - Indian replacements announced

Back for the NZ ODIs

The Indian selectors have named replacements for some of the players in the first two ODIs

• Sreesanth being replaced by Zaheer Khan
• Rohit Sharma replaces Suresh Raina
• Parthiv Patel taking over the wicket-keeping gloves from Wriddhiman Saha
• Praveen Kumar coming in place of Vinay Kumar

While Sreesanth and Raina will take rest before they proceed to the South African tour, Saha and Vinay Kumar will go back to their state squads for playing the Ranji matches.

In place of Zaheer, the selectors should have given a chance to Umesh Yadav (selected for the tour to SA). The Indian spearhead would have spent some more time on the sidelines rejuvenating himself before the difficult tour.  Similarly, Vinay Kumar must feel unlucky to have been left out without getting any chance in the ODI series.

Dinesh Karthick is overlooked once again while Parthiv Patel gets a chance at international level after a very long time. The Indian batting is a bit weak in this ODI series - Ashish Nehra coming at No.7 is an indication of the lower order strength. Parthiv will add weight to the batting hopefully while not diluting the wicket-keeping duties.

The three matches gives the selectors ideal situation to check the bench strength of the Indian team - will the players take up the opportunity and grab their chances? Let us see.

Related articles

• India select squads for NZ ODIs and SA series (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)
• Praveen Kumar to miss first ODI against NZ (espncricinfo.com)
• Pointers from the Indian selectors and Ranji matches (myhistoryisinteresting.blogspot.com)