One would have to wonder what is happening with the selectors! Yuvraj Singh who could not even make the cut to represent the Rest of India squad against Australia will now lead the Board President’s XI, leaving people to once again ask – will he, won’t he?
This is either a smart move to throw the Australians completely off by raising their hopes or a plain confused decision on the part of the selectors. Australia would be licking their lips were Yuvraj Singh, with just thirteen Test under his belt, were to actually playing in the first eleven for India.
An unlikely scenario, but it still come as a surprise that he would be selection for a four day game, let alone be made captain. But he is not the only one for whom hope floats. Wasim Jaffer finds himself in the Rest of India (ROI) team for the Irani Trophy and his confidence will be further bolstered by the fact that he has been picked in the Board President’s squad. Parthiv Patel will at least wear the gloves in this tie against Australia. Aakash Chopra will move from Delhi to the Board President’s XI in a matter of days and hopefully look to improve his chances by impressing the selectors.
Amongst the India hopefuls are also, Rohit Sharma, S. Badrinath and Virat Kohli who will all be part of the Board President’s XI facing up to the world champions and trying to prove they are just as adaptable to the longer version of the game and on the international stage. Dinesh Karthik though has been left to only making moves on the dance floors. While he will feature in the “Ek Haseena Ek Khiladi” dance reality show on Colors channel, India has perhaps heard the last of him in a while with him not even featuring in the India A squad, the selectors preferring Wriddhiman Saha instead.

The bowling changes will be enticing and interesting. Irfan Pathan is on the road to mend and joining him will be S. Sreesanth who has had next to no action since his eventful IPL participation. Manpreet Gony is also among the fray as is Yogesh Takawale. Pragyan Ojha and Ashoke Dinda will do a repeat after being selected for the ROI team although perhaps both may not feature in the ROI game.
The selections have forced a few changes in the India A squad. Suresh Raina is already holding the skipper’s reign with Badrinath selected for the ROI team. The Tests against New Zealand A will also see Jaydev Shah, son of BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah, take over the vice captaincy role.
Change is on the cards. But perhaps the most intriguing selections will come in a few days’ time when the selectors sit down to pick the Indian team for the Test against Australia in Bangalore on October 9th.

India A team members:
Suresh Raina (captain), Jaydev Shah, M Vijay,
Shikhar Dhawan, Sahil Kukreja, Cheteshwar Pujara,
Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha,
Ashok Dinda, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sudeep Tyagi,
Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohnish Parmar.

Board President’s squad members:
Yuvraj Singh (capt), S Badrinath, Wasim Jaffer,
Aakash Chopra, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli,
Parthiv Patel (wk), Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth,
Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha, Pankaj Singh,
Manpreet Gony, Yogesh Takawale, Rakesh Dhurv.

To catch more of the Pathan brothers in action or Dinesh Karthik on the dance floor, do read:
When There’s no Cricket; The Suave Come out to Dance

Yousuf Pathan at his Phenomenal Best; New Zealand A at Receiving End325131