Rookie Kulkarni gets surprise call; Balaji, Kaarthick return

Chennai, Feb 13 (PTI) Rookie Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni
Friday earned a surprise call up to India's Test squad while
fit-again speedster Lakshmipathy Balaji and his Tamil Nadu
teammate Dinesh Kaarthick staged a comeback for the gruelling
tour of New Zealand starting next week.

The 20-year-old Kulkarni, who first came into the
limelight in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier
League, has been rewarded for his consistent show in the
domestic circuit.

Apart from Kulkarni's inclusion, there were no major
surprises in the teams -- Test, ODI and Twenty20 -- that were
picked here after a meeting of the National selection Panel
headed by former India captain Krish Srikkanth.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and paceman Munaf Patel, both
of whom missed the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka, have
returned to all the three squads.

Balaji, who returned to the one-day fold as a replacement
for Munaf during the series against Sri lanka, forced his way
back into the Test reckoning with a splendid performance as
Tamil Nadu's pace spearhead in the domestic circuit.

The selectors opted to take two wicketkeepers for the
48-day tour, comprising three Tests, five one-dayers and two
twenty20 matches. Kaarthick pipped Gujarat captain Parthiv
Patel to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni's back-up.

The selectors have not tinkered much with the ODI and the
Twenty20 squads, which by and large are the same that won the
ODI series against Sri Lanka 4-1 and beat them in the one-off
T20 game.

Opener Murali Vijay was retained in the Test squad which,
however, has no place for left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who
figures in the ODI and Twenty20 squads.

Veterans Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman have been picked
only for the Test series, while Sachin Tendulkar will play the
Test and ODIs but has opted out of the Twenty20 matches.

Considering the seaming conditions in New Zealand, the
selectors opted for just two specialist spinners in Harbhajan
and Amit Mishra for the Test matches, while picking a
five-pronged pace attack.

The Test squad has three specialist openers, five
middle-order batsmen and a reserve wicketkeeper in Kaarthick.

Zaheer Khan, who has been excellent form in recent times,
will spearhead the pace attack which also includes Ishant
Sharma, Munaf, Balaji and Kulkarni.

The Indian team will leave for New Zealand on February 19
and will start the tour with a Twenty20 match at Christchurch
on February 25. The next Twenty20 game will played in
Wellington on February 27.

The ODI series starts march 3, while the Test series will
get underway from March 18.

Kulkarni, a right-arm medium pacer, came into spotlight
after his performance for the Mumbai Under-17 team during the
2005-06 Vijay Merchant Trophy.

In the 13 first-class match he has played so far,
Kulkarni has taken 49 wickets at an average of 22.02 and an
economy rate of 2.94.

For Balaji, who had been laid low by a back injury, it is
a comeback after almost four years, having played his last
Test against Pakistan in Bangalore in March 2005.

Kaarthick had played his last Test against Sri Lanka at
Galle in July-August last year.

Test Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender
Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S
Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant
Sharma, Munaf Patel, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Kaarthick, L Balaji,
Dhawal Kulkarni, Murali Vijay.

ODI Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender
Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer
Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Dinesh
Kaarthick, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, Rohit
Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan.

Twenty20 squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk),
Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan,
Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Dinesh Kaarthick,
Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, Rohit Sharma,
Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja. PTI RE