Yuvraj back, Karthik left out - Australia Series Team

Yuvraj Singh was included in the squad announced today for the only T20I and first three ODIs to be played against Australia at home.

Wicket-keeper Ambati Rayudu and Saurashtra pacer Jaydev Unadkat were the other inclusions in the 15-member squad for the series beginning on October 10.

Yuvraj, player of the series in the 2011 World Cup, returned to the national side after recovering from cancer. Following poor form in the ODIs against Pakistan and England, Yuvraj was dropped in January this year. The aggressive left-hander averaged 20 in his last seven ODIs and was not included in India’s squad for Champions Trophy.

Since his return to India after an intensive fitness regime, Yuvraj has been in impressive form. He has made his comeback to the national side after a run-scoring spree in the ODIs against West Indies A followed by impressive performance with the bat in the Challenger series. He was the highest run-getter in the ODI series with 224 runs. Continuing his good form into the Challenger series, the left-hander scored 113 runs from two innings and led the India Blues to the title win.

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, two senior players who were dropped early this year after batting slumps, received another setback at their attempts to make a comeback after they were not included in the squad.

MS Dhoni returns to the side as captain after he was and other first-choice players were rested for the five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. Parvez Rasool, Dinesh Karthik, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are the players that have been excluded from the squad that swept the series against Zimbabwe. Umesh Yadav, who was rested for the tour of Zimbabwe, also does not feature in the squad.

With 17 wins out of 22 games played this year, Team India is perched at the top of ICC rankings. They are followed by Australia at the second spot. The tour will begin with a T20I at Rajkot on October 10 and will be followed by seven ODIs across the country.

India squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat




Australia tour of India 2013 - (Oct 10 - Nov 02)

Oct 10 - Thu India v Australia, Only T20I ------ 19:00 - Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium Rajkot

Oct 13 - Sun India v Australia, 1st ODI --------- 14:30 - Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium Pune

Oct 16 - Wed India v Australia, 2nd ODI -------- 14:30 - Sawai Mansingh Stadium Jaipur

Oct 19 - Sat India v Australia, 3rd ODI --------- 14:30 - Punjab Cricket Association Stadium Mohali

Oct 23 - Wed India v Australia, 4th ODI --------- 14:30 - JSCA International Stadium Complex Ranchi

Oct 26 - Sat India v Australia, 5th ODI --------- 14:30 - Barabati Stadium Cuttack

Oct 30 - Wed India v Australia, 6th ODI ---------- 14:30 - Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium Nagpur

Nov 02 - Sat India v Australia, 7th ODI ---------- 14:30 - M.Chinnaswamy Stadium Bengaluru[/img]

Bhajji v nahi paiya