Yuvraj, Zaheer, Dahiya in team

Three new faces find a place in the 14-member Indian team for the ICC knock-out tournament in Nairobi, from October 3 to 15. They are allrounder Yuvraj Singh, left arm medium pacer Zaheer Khan and Delhi wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya.

Also making a comeback to the side is Bombay batsman Vinod Kambli and left arm spinner Sunil Joshi.

Punjab batsman Reetinder Singh, who led the India under-15 team to the junior World Cup in London recently, is the surprise omission.

Perhaps Yuvraj was preferred to the Punjab youngster because of his good showing in the Buchi Babu tournament.

Chairman of the selection committee Chandu Borde who announced the team at a press conference in Madras after a two-hour long meeting with other selectors Madan Lal, Anil Despande, T A Sekhar and Ashok Malhotra said the composition of the team was encouraging.

"We have a lot of confidence in them. These are the players who will deliver the goods," Borde said.

Asked what weighed in favour of wicket keeper Dahiya vis-a-vis Tamil Nadu's Reuben Paul, Borde said Dahiya could improvise better. Reuben was also discussed, he added.

Asked why Tamil Nadu left hander opener Sadagopan Ramesh was dumped again despite good track record in one dayers and Test matches, Borde said Ganguly and Sachin would be opening. Sriram is a promising youngster and is shaping well.

Answering a question, he said Yuvraj was a promising player and a brilliant fielder. He also bowls well and can contribute in all the departments.

The team:

1. Sourav Ganguly (captain)
2. Rahul Dravid (vice-captain)
3. Sachin Tendulkar
4. Vinod Kambli
5. Hemang Badani
6. Yuvraj Singh
7. Anil Kumble
8. Sunil Joshi
9. Zaheer Khan
10. S Sriram
11. Robin Singh
12. Ajit Agarkar
13. Venkatesh Prasad
14. Vijay Dahiya (wicketkeeper)

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