INDIA’S under-strength squad for the upcoming Test series against West Indies has been further depleted after seamers Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth were ruled out with injury. Veteran Zaheer will miss the three-Test series, which begins on June 20, with an ankle complaint while right-armer Sreesanth has a right elbow problem which could also threaten his place on the following tour of England.
Inexperienced duo Praveen Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun have been named as their replacements in a squad that was already without the batting talents of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.
India will now be forced to field a vastly-inexperienced line-up with Kumar uncapped at Test level, despite having 50 one-day international caps, while 21-year-old Mithun has made just three appearances in the longest format.
The tourists had already turned to the uncapped Abhinav Mukund and M. Vijay to open the batting in the absence of Sehwag and Gautam, both of whom have shoulder injuries.
The high number of absentees comes hot on the heels of the Indian Premier League, which is likely to raise more questions about its impact on an already-packed international cricket calendar.
India’s Test squad were due to fly out tomorrow to meet the limited overs unit, which leads the current five-match ODI series 2-0. However, that has now been delayed.