Ishant left out, Sreesanth makes ODI return

Mumbai:

Rewarded for his good performance in the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka, S Sreesanth has been selected for the two T20 ties and first two ODIs against Sri Lanka, starting December 9.

Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were rested for the two Twenty20 matches while Bengal pacer Ashok Dinda and Tamil Nadu all-rounder R Ashwin were the two new faces.

Delhi paceman Ashish Nehra also found a place in both the squads, announced by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan after a meeting of the selection meeting here.

Sudeep Tyagi, the Uttar Pradesh speedster, who was in India's one-day squad during the recent series against Australia has been retained in the squad for the two T20 matches and and the first two one-dayers.

Struggling Ishant Sharma was included in the T20 squad but was omitted from the ODI team, which will have Zaheer, Praveen Kumar, Nehra, Sreesanth and Tyagi as specialist pace bowlers.

Opener Gautam Gambhir, who has skipped the ongoing third and final Test against Sri Lanka to attend his sister's wedding, has been named in both the squads.

The national senior selection committee, headed by former captain K Srikkanth, have opted to give a chance to a few youngsters who have done well in the domestic circuit.

The 25-year-old paceman Dinda shot into limelight in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League and has been a consistent performer in the Ranji Trophy matches for Bengal.

Ashwin is a promising off-spin bowler and also a useful batsman down the order. His all round abilities will provide variety to the team in the shortest format of the game.

The teams to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni have a blend of youth and experience with Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan and Zaheer being the senior players.

The teams are as follows:

First two ODIs:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, S. Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, Sudeep Tyagi, Virat Kohli.

T20s:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan, R. Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, S. Sreesanth, Ashok Dinda, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ojha, Rohit Sharma.

(With PTI inputs)