Yuvraj, Sehwag likely to return against Australia

New Delhi:

Hard-hitting Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh will be considered for selection when Indian selectors pick squad for the first two one-dayers against Australia on Thursday.

The left-hander, who was ruled out of the Champions Trophy due to a finger injury suffered during a practice sessions, is likely to play from the second ODI onwards.

The Indian squad for the forthcoming seven-match one-day series against Australia will be picked in Chennai on October 15.

Yuvraj, who has grown into Team India's backbone, has so far scored 7,098 runs and bagged 76 wickets in One-Day Internationals.

Apart from Yuvraj, opener Virender Sehwag is also likely to make a comeback into the side after recovering from a shoulder injury that required surgery and the opener missed both the Twenty20 World Cup in England and Champions Trophy in South Africa. Sehwag's inclusion might see an out-of-form Yusuf Pathan missing the bus.

Lanky pacer Ishant Sharma, who too has been struggling with his form, faces some tough competition from Irani Trophy star from Uttar Pradesh, Sudeep Tyagi. Apart from Tyagi, Abhishek Nayar is also expected to get the selectors' nod for the ODIs in Vadodara (Oct 25) and Nagpur (Oct 28).

In spin department, Harbhajan Singh in all probability will retain his place. Though there could be a toss-up between Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra as a second spinner.

The selectors will also debate on whether to persist with Rahul Dravid, who made a come back to the 50-overs format after a two-year hibernation.

The ODI series would start with the day encounters at the Reliance (previously IPCL) Stadium in Vadodara on October 25 and end with the final day/night clash at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on November 11.

The other matches are scheduled at Nagpur (Oct 28), Delhi (Oct 31), Mohali (Nov 2), Hyderabad (Nov 5) and Guwahati (Nov 8) with all these ties, barring the sixth one in Assam, to be day/night contests.