The Indian selectors have gone against conventional wisdom and common refrain by selecting Abhimanyu Mithun for the tour of Australia. Pace bowler Mithun replaces the injured Praveen Kumar despite reports suggesting that Irfan Pathan looked like he was the frontrunner to get the nod.
Praveen Kumar Out, Abhimanyu Mithun In, Pathan Misses
It will be Abhimanyu Mithun and not Irfan Pathan who will replace Praveen Kumar in the Indian squad for their tour of Australia.
Praveen was earlier a part of the five-member pace bowling department that also included Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron. His injury meant that the selectors needed to name a replacement and with Pathan showing good form in the first class season so far, he looked like he would get the nod.
Mithun has played four Test matches and three ODIs as compared to Pathan’s 29 Test matches and 107 ODIs. Pathan, however, has been out of the national side for almost three years now and despite his good four games in the Ranji Trophy, the selectors obviously wanted to give him more time before allowing him a comeback into the Test side.
Pathan gets his chance too, getting selected to the ODI squad for the remaining two games of the series between India and West Indies. He replaces Umesh Yadav, who will now fly off to Australia to acclimatize himself to the conditions down under.
India play Australia in four Test matches for the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
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