Ganguly retained in Test squad against Australia

As the Australians gear up to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the BCCI has declared the list of 15 men who will challenge the world champions in the first two Tests starting October 9. Leg spinner Amit Mishra’s inclusion has been the surprise package of the first selection meeting of the ‘paid’ selectors.

While all the senior players who were picked for the Irani Trophy are expectedly in the squad, Sourav Ganguly – who was left out of the Rest of India team – has been retained. Ganguly, a part of India’s Fab Four, will be looking to make yet another strong comeback after a poor run in Sri Lanka.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been picked as the only wicketkeeper as he returns to Test cricket after opting out from the previous series. The selectors preferred S Badrinath over the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina who miss out on another Test opportunity.

Ishant Sharma, RP Singh and Munaf Patel have been included to form a pace attack which will be spearheaded by Zaheer Khan. Skipper Anil Kumble will share spin duty with Harbhajan Singh and surprise inclusion Amit Mishra, who was a part of the Delhi Daredevils team in the Indian Premier League.

The upcoming four-Test series holds a high level of anticipation in terms of a great contest, especially since the previous ties between these two countries have produced some nail-biting battles.

The last time the Australians toured India in 2004, they were successful in ending a dry run of 35 years, registering a 2-1 victory over the hosts. The score-line read similar when both these teams met once again at the end of 2007 in Australia. Although Ricky Ponting and Co lifted the winning trophy, the fierce competition by the Indians was enough to pose a serious threat to the ‘Invincibles’ tag that is attached to the champion side.

**India squad:**Anil Kumble (C), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, S Badrinath, Amit Mishra