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Chennai: Gautam Gambhir's injured shoulder will be the biggest cause of concern as the selectors meet on Friday to choose the team for the Test matches against the West Indies. The BCCI is still tightlipped about Gambhir's availability, saying that a final decision will only be taken after the southpaw undergoes a fitness test.
"The assessment will be done tomorrow and only then we will be in a position to take a final call on the issue," a senior BCCI official said.
The first Test starts on June 20 which is about three weeks from now. If Gambhir is close to being fit, the selectors may just gamble with him. A selection committee source pointed out that till Thursday they were planning the team with Gambhir in mind. But if the BCCI decides to give Gambhir a rest and allow him to get ready for the England series, the openers' slot will really be up for grabs.
With Virender Sehwag also not there, M Vijay, despite a very mediocre season, is likely to be retained just because of his international experience. Cheteshwar Pujara who impressed against Australia on debut where he batted at No. 3, is also an option. Pujara, though had suffered a knee injury during the IPL and was undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA. Sources close to the batsman said that his "injury is not serious and he is confident of making the team".
The selectors have gone on record saying that they prefer specialists and in case Pujara is also deemed unfit, Tamil Nadu left-hander Abhinav Mukund's name may crop up. The southpaw has scored 1211 runs in the domestic season which goes in his favour.
The four pacers who are likely to do the duties will be Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth. Sreesanth hasn't been in great form of late, but there aren't too many options for the selectors to play around with.
Given the nature of the West Indian pitches, three spinners will be inducted into the squad. Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra are certainties and it's likely that Pragyan Ojha will come in as the third spinner ahead of R Ashwin to add variety to the attack.
Wriddhiman Saha was ahead in the race for the second wicketkeeper's slot, but Gambhir's injury can make it difficult for the selectors.
