Tendulkar likely to play in Australia ODIs

Sachin Tendulkar has reportedly made himself available for selection for the one-day series in Australia © AFP

Sachin Tendulkar is likely to return India's ODI set-up for the tri-series in Australia, which begins on February 5 and also involves Sri Lanka. The selectors will meet in Chennai on Sunday to pick the squad for the series and, reportedly, Tendulkar has made himself available for selection.

India won the tri-series on their last trip to Australia in 2007-08 and Tendulkar had been India's best batsman then, scoring a vital century in the first of the three finals in Sydney. He last played an ODI on April 2, the World Cup final in Mumbai that India won. He is currently India's top run-getter in the ongoing Test series against Australia.

Tendulkar's comeback would offset the absence of Yuvraj Singh, who is still convalescing from a non-malignat lung tumour.

Seamer Praveen Kumar, who was originally picked for the Test-leg of the Australia tour but was later withdrawn after he picked up a rib injury, is another player on the way back into the national squad. Praveen was India's leading wicket-taker during the Tests in England last year, but an ankle injury ruled him out of the one-dayers. Praveen had played two limited-overs practice matches in Bangalore on Thursday and Friday, to prove his fitness.

Irfan Pathan, who was picked for the final two matches of the home ODI series against West Indies in December, could find a berth in the squad as a second allrounder. Ishant Sharma, in all probability will not play the series. While he has been an integral part of India's Test set-up, he only played two ODIs - when India fielded a young team during the tour of the West Indies - in 2011. Previous to that, he had last played international 50-overs cricket in August 2010, and has more often than not struggled in the format. Zaheer Khan is likely to stay on for the ODIs, with R Vinay Kumar and Umesh Yadav completing the pace department.

In the spin department, the selectors are happy with the pair of offspinner R Ashwin and legspinner Rahul Sharma. Harbhajan Singh, who is recovering from shin injury owing to which he could only play three Ranji Trophy matches for Punjab this season, is once again likely to be ignored.

Parthiv Patel, has been India's preferred reserve wicketkeeper in ODIs for a while, but his batting has been questioned after he has repeatedly failed to convert starts. In the series against West Indies, he managed only 56 runs from five matches. The selectors could be tempted to try Wriddhiman Saha, who has usually been preferred for the Test legs of tours, in place of Parthiv.

Saha's Bengal team-mate Manoj Tiwary, who scored his maiden ODI century in the final match of the West Indies series and had a strong Ranji season, could be involved in a tussle with Ajinkya Rahane, if the selectors opt for an extra batsman.

In addition to picking the tri-series squad, the selectors will also decide on names for the two Twenty20 internationals against Australia, which will be played ahead of the one-dayers.

Squad (likely): MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Manoj Tiwary/Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Rahul Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha/Parthiv Patel (reserve wk), Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma/Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav