Nov 27, 2009

Gautam Gambhir unavailable for 3rd Test


India will be without the services of Gautam Gambhir for the 3rd cricket Test against Sri Lanka at Mumbai as the left-handed opening batsman will be attending his sister's wedding on December 3.

December is usually the wedding season in North India.

Gautam Gambhir's unavailability means a spot will be open in the team for an opener. The man expected to benefit is Murali Vijay who is part of the team and has played for India before when Gambhir was unavailable.

Murali Vijay had previous filled in for a suspended Gambhir against Australia, and looked solid in his debut match.

The Senior Selection Committee maintained the same side for the 3rd Test to be played from December 2-6 but said because of Gautam Gambhir's unavailability, the strength of the team will be fourteen.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has retained the same side for the 3rd Test of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka, to be played at Mumbai from 2 December 2009 to 6 December 2009," said BCCI secretary N Srinivasan.

"Gambhir will not be available for the Test, on account of his sister's wedding on 3 December. The strength of the team for the Mumbai Test will thus be fourteen," he added.

Indian Team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Pragyan Ojha and S Sreesanth.

1 comment: