Dravid pulls out of one-day series against England

Middle-order batsman Rahul Dravid has pulled out of the upcoming five-match one-day series against England and the Challenger Series one-day tournament.

The stylish Karnataka batsman has sought permission to skip the one-day series and the Challenger series, to go to South Africa for shoulder treatment so that he can be fully fit before the Zimbabwe tour of India in March next year, Board of Control for Cricket in India executive secretary, Sharad Diwadkar said in Mumbai on Thursday.

The five one-dayers, from January 22 to February 3, against England will be played at Kolkata, Chennai, Kanpur, Delhi and Mumbai.

The Challenger Series (day-night) will be played at Bangalore from January 10 to 13. The Indian team for the one-dayers will be selected at Bangalore on January 13, he added.

Also read: Dravid's shoulder injury is serious

Mail Cricket Editor