Sehwag back in Indian Squad, to bat in middle order

Mumbai, Feb 3 (UNI) Virender Sehwag and Munaf Patel made a comeback while Ramesh Powar, Suresh Raina and Gautam Gambhir were left out from the squad which will play the first two one day Internationals (ODIs) against Sri Lanka at Kolkata on February 8 and Rajkot on February 11.

Chairman of Selectors Dilip Vengsarkar, while addressing newspersons after the Selection Committee meeting, said Virender Sehwag would bat in the middle order. He said the Delhi batsman would also be a useful offspin bowler.

Vengsarkar said, ''Sehwag is a proven cricketer and we wanted to give him a break so that he can practice and make a comeback as a much better cricketer.'' His inclusion for the the first two ODIs did not mean he would be guranteed a place in the World Cup squad, Vengsarkar said of Sehwag.

''He will have to perform in the first two matches and only then we will take a call on his inclusion in the World Cup squad,'' he added.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah, who is also the convenor of the Selection Committee, said the Indian team physio John Gloster had declared pace bowler Munaf Patel fit after recovering from an ankle injury and was therefore selected into the squad for two ODIs.

The Indian team for the World Cup as well as the last two ODIs against Sri Lanka will be selected here on February 12.

Team: Rahul Dravid (c), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Robbin Uthappa, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Munaf Patel, Virender Sehwag, S Sreesanth, Dinesh Karthick and Irafan Pathan.

UNI