Cricket

Tendulkar, Irfan return for two ODIs

Sachin Tendulkar made a comeback in the Indian One-Day squad after eight months for the remaining four games against England, it was announced on Thursday in Kanpur. All-rounder Irfan Pathan also earned a recall into the team for the next two ODIs. Pacer RP Singh and opener Murali Vijay were dropped from the 15-man squad.

Tendulkar, who recently crossed Brian Lara to become the world’s leading run-getter in Tests, played his last ODI series in Australia earlier this year. The master batsman came in place of surprise inclusion Murali Vijay, who did not get a game in the three matches played so far.

Irfan Pathan was rewarded with a place in the ODI squad for his consistent performance in domestic cricket in the last few months. The Baroda cricketer played his last ODI game against Sri Lanka in August. Pathan’s inclusion came at the expense of RP Singh who got to play the first two matches mainly because of Ishant Sharma’s injury. But RP was wayward in both games, failing to make an impression on the selectors.

India, who have taken a 3-0 lead in the seven-match series, play the fourth game against England on Sunday in Bangalore.

Squad: MS Dhoni (Captain, Wicketkeeper), Virender Sehwag (Vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha.

Tags: england, Hero Honda Cup, India, irfan pathan, sachin tendulkar