Dilhara Fernando to replace injured Thilan Thushara

Sri Lankan left-arm Faster Thilan Thushara was today ruled out of the ongoing Test series against India due to a shoulder injury and will be replaced by pacer Dilhara Fernando in the visitors' 15-member squad.

Thushara has been announced unfit for around four weeks and would be sent home to undertake treatment.

"Thilan Thushara, will return back to Sri Lanka due to a shoulder injury, and as such he will not be match fit for approximately 2 to 4 weeks," the Sri Lankan Cricket said in a statement today.

"Thilan will be sent back and Dilhara Fernando will replace him," it added.

Sri Lanka is now playing the first Test of three-match series at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad. Thushara was not comprised in the playing XI for the 1st Test match.

Sri Lanka bank on bowling variety ahead of Tests

After experiencing a day of unseasonably rains that brought Mumbai to an idle, the Sri Lankan Cricket team woke up to a clearer sky on Thursday. But the rain stayed away, the killing it left behind ensured that the visitors could do little in terms of their preparation for the Three Test series against India. The Sri Lankans reached the ground more than an hour before the Board President's XI team did, but they had to sit around waiting for the umpires before heading indoors again. There was a pitch inspection at 1 pm, but it prove to be a mere procedure as play was called off again.

Team manager Brendon Kuruppu said that the visitors used the unexpected time off beneficially. "We have missed two full days of practice, but we've exhausted our time well, practicing indoors and utilizing the facilities," the former Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman said. "Going to Ahmedabad earlier than planned in order to get in an additional outdoor session before the first Test is an option," he said.

Sri Lanka have a very poor history in India, They never won the test Series. Particularly in the game's long format 14 Tests without ever really coming close to winning. But Brendon Kuruppu insists that the present lot not only has an extra spring in its stride, but also a venomous sting in its tail. "We've done well in Tests in the last two years all over the world. This young lot is full with confidence," he says. "Our batsmen have done well here on most occasions. But never before has a Lankan team landed in India with such a strong bowling attack," he says.

In Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath, Sri Lanka have three different spinners. While Muralitharan may not have the great record in India, he did return home with 16 wickets in 2005, and the Indian batsmen are well alert of the perils associated with Mendis. Herath, meanwhile, has reinvented himself in recent times, outperforming even Muralitharan during the recent home series against Pakistan and New Zealand.

Pakistan in New Zealand Test Series Schedule 2009

Date		Match Details		Time (GMT)	Venue
Nov 24 - 28		Pakistan v New Zealand, 1st Test		22.00	Dunedin
Dec 3 - 7		Pakistan v New Zealand, 2nd Test		22.00	Wellington
Dec 16-20		Pakistan v New Zealand, 3rd Test		22.00	Napier

Mohammad Yousuf appointed Pakistan Captain

Pakistan on Wednesday appointed Mohammad Yousuf as Skipper for the Test tour of New Zealand after Younus Khan requested for a rest following the one-day series defeat against the same country.

"Yes, Younus Khan has asked for a rest so we have appointed Yousuf as Skipper for the three-Test tour," Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt told AFP, adding, "It has nothing to do with the defeat against New Zealand."

Pakistan lost the three-match ODI series 2-1 after a slight seven-run defeat in the final on Monday.

Following the one-day series crush, Pakistani media reported that Younus Khan had lost the confidence of his players, who wanted him to be replaced.

Pakistan will fly from here on Sunday to play 3 Tests in New Zealand.

Indian Team announced, Zaheer and Sreesanth included

S. Sreesanth has been given a shock recall into the Indian team for the first two tests against Sri Lanka. He was amid the two pacers recalled to the side, with pace spearhead Zaheer Khan being the other one.

Zaheer Khan returns to the team after recovering from a shoulder injury, which had kept back him out of India's recent assignments.

The team also includes Murali Vijay, who filled in as opener for Gautam Gambhir when India played Australia in a four Test series late last year, and Badrinath, who has yet to make his Test debut.

Ashish Nehra, who did reasonably well in the ongoing one-day series against Australia, failed to get the selectors' nod, as did Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar and Virat Kohli - who are all part of the current ODI squad.

As expected, the veteran batting pair of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman retained their places.

The selection of S. Sreesanth raised eyebrows as the Kerala faster has not really done anything significant in the domestic circuit since recovering from a back injury.

The selection seems all the more baffling given the fact that the bowler, who has a history of disciplinary indiscretions, was only last month given a final warning by the Cricket Board to mend his ways. .

The 26-year-old Sreesanth will return to the Test fold after one-and-half year having played his last Test in April 2008 against South Africa in Kanpur.

Excepting the selection of Sreesanth over Nehra, there were no major surprises in the squad, which has eight specialist batsmen, three pacers, three spinners and only one wicketkeeper in Dhoni.

The recently out-of-sorts Ishant Sharma retained his place, while Pragyan Ojha - who has done well whenever he has got a chance to represent India - has been picked as the third spinner in the squad that includes Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra.

After the Test series, the Sri Lankans will play two Twenty20 matches and five one-dayers.

The squad:

MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, M Vijay, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra.

Jacob Oram announced to retire from Test cricket

Jacob Oram has announced his retirement from Test cricket, but said Oram remains committed to representing New Zealand in limited-over international Matches.

The retirement is effectual immediately. Jacob Oram said that after ongoing fights with injury he hoped a decreased workload would allow him to extend his international playing career.

"I have decided to retire from Test cricket match. This decision has been a very hard one and has not been made without careful deliberation and discussion with those closest to me," Oram said.

"The last few years have exposed that my body cannot handle the strains and stresses that come with being an all-rounder, playing all three formats for up to 10 months a year.

"For the sake of longevity I have had to make a decision that will decrease my workload, so I can concentrate all my efforts on the shorter forms of the game.

"The decision to choose limited-overs cricket over Test cricket has a lot to do with playing chances. The BlackCaps play a lot more limited overs cricket than Tests, and there's also the chance to continue playing in world events such as the World Cup, World T20 and Champions Trophy, as well as the IPL.

"The opportunity to expend more time at home with my family including my first child, due next month, is also a major motive for deciding to pull back on playing commitments and time away from home.

"I have attempted to delay any decision about my future career path for some time now. However in light of my latest injury at the Champions Trophy it has became clear to me that now is the time to give up something to try and stay in the game longer.

"I am hoping this conclusion extends my career. I do not want to put an exact time frame on that, as I have learnt that sometimes my body and my mind are on dissimilar wavelengths.

"The ICC World Cup in 2011 is a main focus for me and I am highly motivated to be fit and firing for that. Eventually, I would like to go for a couple of seasons after that, but as I said I am reluctant to put a fixed date on it.

Jacob Oram has played 33 Tests since his debut in December 2002, scoring 1780 runs at an average of 36.32. His record contains five hundreds and six fifties, with a high score of 133 against South Africa at Centurion in April 2006.

With the ball Oram has taken 60 Test wickets at an average of 33.05. His best Test bowling of 4-41 came against India at Hamilton in 2002. For a period in 2008 he was in the top five ICC rankings for Test all-rounders.

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