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Mumbai: Injuries to key middle order batsmen Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh ahead of the tough Test rubber against South Africa has opened the door for younger aspirants to claim places in the Indian squad for the home series to be picked on Thursday.
Dravid and Yurvaj Singh, who were injured in the course of the second Test now in progress in Mirpur against hosts Bangladesh, are virtually out of the opening match against South Africa commencing on February 6 at Nagpur.
There's also a question mark over Laxman's availability after he missed the Mirpur game due to a finger injury and suddenly the middle order shows a huge void that the selectors would find hard to fill.
The front runners for taking up the slots that would become vacant due to the likely absence of these main batsmen are Subramaniam Badrinath, who has been with the team in home ties without getting a look-in, One-day specialists Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and young talent Manish Pandey of Karnataka.
And then there's the option for the selectors to fall back on Mohammed Kaif of Uttar Pradesh if they want an experienced man to prop up the middle order which looks short of the needed steel to counter the SA pace attack.
Kaif had an ordinary run in the Ranji Trophy for UP who made the semis before losing to Karnataka.
But the One-day discard's double century in the Duleep Trophy quarter-final against East Zone in Mohali followed by the gritty 112 on the opening day of the semi final against South Zone at Indore, on Tuesday, that lifted Central from a deep rut has suddenly pitch-forked him into the reckoning.
There is also the option of including regular India 'A' players Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, both of who have scored consistently in domestic cricket and would be in consideration.
Murali Vijay, who replaced Laxman in the Mirpur Test, is also expected to be retained in the full squad as the third-choice opener behind Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.
In bowling, there's an injury doubt over pacer S Sreesanth after the Kerala bowler sustained a torn hamstring during the Test rubber in Bangladesh and was sent home after the opener in Chittagong. He's unlikely to be fit for the opening match against South Africa.
The spin department too has not performed up to the mark with spearhead Harbhajan Singh not showing signs of leading the pack in the expected fashion.
A game of musical chairs is also being played amongst leg spinner Amit Mishra and left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha with the former dropped controversially for the second Test in Mirpur despite having taken seven wickets and done well with the bat in the first Test in Chittagong against Bangladesh.
The second Test against the Proteas is to be held at Kolkata's Eden Gardens from February 14.
The five-man selection panel headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth, would also pick the Board President's squad for the two-day warm-up tie against South Africa at Nagpur scheduled on February 2 and 3.
