The selection of the Indian test team for the first two Tests against South Africa has been postponed from March 9 to March 17.
Mumbai, Mar.7 : The selection of the Indian test team for the first two Tests against South Africa has been postponed from March 9 to March 17.
The selectors will now meet in Bangalore instead of Mumbai, a cricket website reported.
Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, had requested a postponement for picking a squad for the Tests starting March 26, so that players could take part in the Deodhar Trophy scheduled between March 14 and 26. He also said that the players needed some rest after their tour of Australia.
Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, and Wasim Jaffer are expected to turn out for their respective zones in the tournament that marks a close to the 2007-08 domestic season.
Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ishant Sharma are among those who will get a break before the South Africa series.
Meanwhile, left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan who is currently recovering from injury, is unlikely to be fit for India's first Test against South Africa, starting on March 26 in Chennai.
Zaheer injured his left heel on the eve of the Sydney Test in early January. It was the same injury that sustained during the third Test against Pakistan in Bangalore a month earlier.
South Africa will arrive in Chennai on March 21 for three Tests, the first of which begins at the MA Chidambaram stadium on March 26. The second and third Tests will be played in Ahmedabad and Kanpur between April 3-7 and 11-15.
ANI