Opener Akash Chopra and medium-pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji will make their Test debut against New Zealand in the first Test at Ahmedabad tomorrow.
Skipper Sourav Ganguly today announced the playing eleven at a press conference in Ahmedabad. Yuvraj Singh, Mumbai medium-pacer Aavishkar Salvi, and leggie Sairaj Bahutule have been left out.
- Sourav Ganguly (captain)
- Rahul Dravid
- Sachin Tendulkar
- V V S Laxman
- Virender Sehwag
- Akash Chopra
- Parthiv Patel (wk)
- Harbhajan Singh
- Anil Kumble
- Zaheer Khan
- L Balaji
Ganguly said two seamers and two spinners will lend the right balance to the team.
He, however, hinted that he would miss Bangar's medium pace. "Bangar has done well for India. He is unlucky to have missed this tour. He is still in the reckoning," the skipper said.
As coach John Wright had indicated earlier, Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly and Sehwag will have to bowl quite a bit in this Test.
Though Wright initially wanted to play three specialist spinners, he changed his mind after consultations with the team think tank and a good look at the hard wicket.
Curator Nadeem Memon told rediff.com: "It is a good, hard wicket with grass on it. If I were the captain, I would elect to field first."
Memon said the wicket was watered on Monday and the dampness will help the fast bowlers. "The fast bowlers should take advantage of the freshness of the wicket... if they bowl well, the batting side can be dismissed under 250," he said.
Memon played down media reports that Harbhajan Singh is unhappy with the wicket. "Bhajji bowled here this morning and enjoyed the bounce."
He said if the spinners flight the ball, they could get turn on day one itself.
Under temperatures close to 35° Celsius in Ahmedabad, the Kiwis have a huge challenge ahead.
