By BV Swagath
VVS Laxman has been retained in India’s Test Squad for the upcoming home series against New Zealand. Laxman has struggled to score runs in India’s overseas tours of England and New Zealand. The 37-year-old was on the radar following Rahul Dravid’s exit but it seems the Selectors have enough faith in the veteran. Meanwhile, India’s future run machine – Cheteshwara Pujara has been recalled in the Test Squad. The Saurashtra youngster comes back after an injury.
Pujara is expected to fill in the boots of Rahul Dravid following the legend's retirement. Meanwhile Suresh Raina also gets a place in the Test Squad following his good form in the One dayers. Rohit Sharma, the other young batsman finds himself out because of a lean patch in Sri Lanka.
The Selectors have also named Ishant Sharma, who comes back after an ankle injury. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla was surprisingly included as the third spinner to back up R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha.
From the last Indian Test Squad that was selected for the tour of Australia, the Selectors have omitted Rohit Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, Wriddhiman Saha and Vinay Kumar while Rahul Dravid has retired.
India plays two Tests against New Zealand at Hyderabad (August 23-27) and at Bangalore (August 31-September 4). The Test Series is followed up by a 2-match T20I Series. India has named the same squad picked for the ICC World Twenty20 2012 for this 2-T20I Series against the Kiwis.
India Test Squad for New Zealand Series: MS Dhoni (Captain and Wicket Keeper), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina
India T20I Squad for New Zealand Series: MS Dhoni (Captain and Wicket Keeper), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Manoj Tiwary, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh and L Balaji
