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New Delhi: When the selectors sit down on Sunday to name the Indian squad for the Sri Lanka tri-series and the Champions Trophy in South Africa, their main worry will again be the fitness of opener Virender Sehwag, whose injury during the World T20 championships in England in June had created a controversy.
Sehwag is set to undergo an assessment of his shoulder on August 15, a day before the selectors meet, and the report will be taken into account while picking the Champions Trophy squad. As things stand, it is almost certain that Sehwag will not be part of the tri-series in Lanka, and sources said that the selectors might not risk him at all for the Champions Trophy because of the tough replacement rules in the ICC-organised events.
Another reason they may not want to risk Sehwag is the fact that the team have alternatives for the opening slot in Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthik, who did well in the West Indies. Also, it will be difficult for the selectors to determine Sehwag's match-fitness ahead of the Champions Trophy as there is no competitive cricket in between.
The 30-year-old is expected to start practising in the first week of September. The Champions Trophy runs from September 22 to October 5.
Sources also indicated that the selectors were likely to spring a few surprises in the 15-member squad named for the two tournaments, most notably welcoming back Rahul Dravid into the One-day fold after almost two years, and leaving out Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma. There could be a change in the spin department as well with leggie Amit Mishra likely to get a recall ahead of left-arm spinner Pragyan Ohja.
Other than that, the squad is set to include Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh among the batsmen. Suresh Raina, who missed out the West Indies series due to a finger injury, is also likely to stay in the mix despite a poor World T20 run.
Dinesh Karthik may travel as the back-up wicketkeeper-batsman behind skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In Zaheer Khan's absence, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar and RP Singh are the front-runners for the seamers' slots, and Harbhajan Singh is a certainty as the team's main spin option.
Yusuf Pathan's place in the team is all but assured, and it has been learnt that the selectors are keen to award Abhishek Nayar with a place by virtue of being the lone seaming all-rounder in the list of 30 probables announced. Nayar made his debut during the West indies tour but didn't get a chance to bat or bowl. He, however, had some crucial knocks down the order in the Emerging Players tournament in Australia last month.
