Irfan Pathan and Rahul Dravid not named in Indian squad for 2011 Cricket World Cup

Irfan Pathan and Rahul Dravid not named in Indian squad for 2011 Cricket World Cup

Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan and middle-order batsman Rahul Dravid could not make it to the list of the 30 “probables” for the Indian squad for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

In an attempt to keep the squad balanced, Indian selectors have not only provided an opportunity for youngsters like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara to represent their country, but have also ensured the participation of veteran players like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

By next month, the list of 30 players initially announced by Indian selectors will be whittled down to 15 to form the final squad for cricket’s biggest event, which begins on February 19.

“As you know there are no big surprises,” said national selection panel chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth, talking to reporters after a meeting of the selection committee. “This is a probables team and everyone selects himself. There is one more month to go to select the final team and we will sit down and think calmly before finalising the team.”

Besides the omission of Dravid and Irfan, there don’t seem to be any surprises in the selection of the team. The Indian batting side will most probably be comprised of Tendulkar, Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir. The bowling line-up in the 30-member probables list comprises players like Zaheer Khan, S. Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, and Ishant Sharma, who were expected to make it to the final squad. Among the spinners, spectators will likely see Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, R. Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha and Piyush Chawla in action.

Besides MS Dhoni, other wicketkeepers among the probables include Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik and Wriddhiman Saha.