Former Indian Cricket Captain Rahul Dravid makes a return to India’s ODI team for the tri-series in Sri Lanka and for the Champions Trophy next month. Rahul Dravid replaced Rohit Sharma, who managed 15 runs in three ODI innings in the West Indies and 43 runs in three innings against major opposition in the World Twenty20.

Also the selectors did not want to take risk including Virender Sehwag, who is yet to recover fully from his shoulder injury. He was not expected to make it to the Sri Lanka tri-series and now has been left out for the Champions Trophy as well.

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid who have made a come back to the ODI squad

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who opted out of the West Indies series, makes a comeback. Suresh Raina, who was out because of a hairline fracture of the thumb, also returns. Amit Mishra makes it into the ODI squad, replacing Pragyan Ojha as the back-up spinner to Harbhajan Singh. Dinesh Karthik and Abhishek Nayar have retained their places.

India’s ODI squad: Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Karthik, and Abhishek Nayar

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Indian cricketers have failed to find a place in the World Twenty20 squad released by ICC in London on Monday. The squad consists of four Pakistan, three Sri Lanka, three South Africa and two West Indies players.

Member of Team India, who failed miserably in the T20 world championship, could not find a place in the ICC’s World T20 XI.

Younus Khan, who bids adieu to the shortest version of the game, has been made the skipper of the team alongwith his Pakistan team-mates all-rounder Shahid Afridi, wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal and paceman Umar Gul.

Sri Lanka’s Tillakratne Dilshan, player of the tournament, named as an opener alongwith the West Indies Chris Gayle while South Africa Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers included for the middle-order.

West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, teenage South Africa paceman Wayne Parnell and Sri Lanka spinner Ajantha Mendis complete the line-up, with Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga as the 12th man.

ICC’s World Twenty20 squad:

Jacques Kallis (SA), AB de Villiers (SA), Shahid Afridi (Pak), Kamran Akmal (Pak), Chris Gayle (WI), Tilakratne Dilshan (SL), Mohammed Younus Khan (Pak, Skipper), Dwayne Bravo (WI), Wayne Parnell (SA), Umar Gul (Pak), Ajantha Mendis (SL), Lasith Malinga (SL)

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Two days after their World Twenty20 campaign ended, the Indian team has landed in Jamaica for their next assignment, a four-ODI series against West Indies.

India have been in great form in one-dayers over the past ten months, losing only three dead matches from 18 games. West Indies performed strongly in the World Twenty20 after a forgettable show against England in the Tests and one-dayers.

India are missing four first-team players on the tour – Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina – but coach Gary Kirsten said this was a chance for the youngsters to shine. “You’re always going to miss them because they are great players, but it’s a great opportunity for a tour of this nature for young players to show what they’re made of.”

The first of four one-dayers is on June 26 in Kingston.

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The two matches scheduled for Saturday in the ICC World T20 2009 at The Oval are:

Match 17: South Africa vs West Indies at 13:30 local, 12:30 GMT

Match 18: New Zealand v Pakistan at 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT

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India and West Indies haven’t met in an international game in England since June 25′ 1983 – the World Cup final. The near 26-year wait will end on Friday evening when the two teams lock horns in the Group E Super 8 clash at Lord’s.

The kind of innings Chris Gayle played against Australia can beat any team in the world on its own. The team officials are confident Gayle will be back for this match after he missed the inconsequential league game against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. India’s counterpart of Gayle, the man capable of playing a similar innings at the top, Virender Sehwag is injured. Now starts the real test of how well Rohit Sharma can fill the opener’s slot.

Teams:

India: MS Dhoni, G Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, RA Jadeja, KD Karthik, Z Khan, P Kumar, PP Ojha, IK Pathan, YK Pathan, SK Raina, I Sharma, RG Sharma, RP Singh, Yuvraj Singh

West Indies: CH Gayle, D Ramdin, LS Baker, SJ Benn, DE Bernard, DJ Bravo, S Chanderpaul, FH Edwards, ADS Fletcher, XM Marshall, KA Pollard, DJG Sammy, RR Sarwan, LMP Simmons, JE Taylor

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The first round of the ICC World T20 is done and the games in the Super Eights start from Thursday, when Ireland takes on New Zealand.

Ireland lost to India in the previous match by 8 wickets and are expected to hit hard against the Kiwis at Trent Bridge today.

England face South Africa in their opening match of the Super Eights with Pietersen, who missed their shock loss to the Netherlands because of an Achilles injury, having played a key role in getting them to the second round by making a fifty in their victory over Pakistan.

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Indian skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first against Bangladesh in the fourth Twenty20 World Cup match at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Saturday.

India are one of cricket’s most marketable and followed teams.They are the defending ICC World Twenty20 champions and the ‘rockstars’ of cricket. India’s loss in a major tournament or a game makes for bigger news than a victory.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, are the poor cousins of the subcontinent. But if ever there’s a leveller in cricket, then it’s the T20 format.

Bangladesh will hope to do what they did to India in the 2007 World Cup in Port-of-Spain. After all, they have been the giantslayers over the past four years. They beat India and South Africa in the 50-over World Cup in 2007 in West Indies and entered the Super Eights.

They knocked out West Indies in the ICC World T20 in 2007 in South Africa to progress to the Super Eights there as well.

Thanks to the IPL, MS Dhoni’s boys know exactly what to do in pressure situations.

Teams:

India: Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt./wk), Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful (capt.), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Raqibul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Naeem Islam

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Australia began their quest for the ICC World Twenty20 title against the West Indies at the Oval on Saturday with Andrew Symonds been sent home.

The Group C which is termed as the Group of Death has Australia, West Indies and Sri Lanka. The first and crucial match for the Aussies ended with a big disappointment when Chris Gayle and Fletcher ruled the show with their blistering performances that led to an easy win for the West Indies.

Scoreboard:

Australia innings (20 overs maximum)
SR Watson       c Sarwan b Taylor         0
DA Warner      c Benn b Bravo             63
RT Ponting      lbw b Taylor                    0
MJ Clarke        c Benn b Edwards           2
BJ Haddin       c Benn b Pollard           24
DJ Hussey       c Fletcher b Bravo      27
MEK Hussey   not out                            28
MG Johnson   c Bravo b Edwards        9
B Lee                  not out                               1

Extras     (b 1, lb 5, w 7, nb 2)               15

Total     (7 wickets; 20 overs)             169

Fall of wickets:1-1, 2-3, 3-15, 4-81, 5-113, 6-143, 7-153

Bowling: JE Taylor:4-0-33-2-8.25, FH Edwards:4-0-34-2-8.50, DJ Bravo:4-0-31-2-7.75, SJ Benn:4-0-35-0-8.75, CH Gayle:2-0-13-0-6.50, KA Pollard:2-0-17-1-8.50

West Indies innings (target: 170 runs from 20 overs)
CH Gayle              c Watson b Lee                    88
ADS Fletcher     c DJ Hussey b Johnson     53
XM Marshall      c Hopes b Johnson                8
S Chanderpaul  not out                                        0
RR Sarwan          not out                                        8

Extras     (lb 5, w 8, nb 2)                                   15

Total     (3 wickets; 15.5 overs)                    172

Fall of wickets:1-133, 2-157, 3-162

Bowling:B Lee:4-0-56-1-14.00, MG Johnson:3.5-0-36-2-9.39, NW Bracken:2-0-21-0-10.50, JR Hopes:2-0-13-0-6.50, DJ Hussey:1-0-16-0-16.00, SR Watson:2-0-13-0-6.50, MJ Clarke:1-0-12-0-12.00

Result: West Indies won by 7 wickets (with 25 balls remaining)
Man of the Match: Chris Gayle(West Indies)

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Ross Taylor’s unbeaten 21 saw New Zealand to a seven-wicket win over Scotland in their opening Group D match in the ICC World Twenty20 at the Oval here on Saturday.

In a match reduced by rain to just seven overs per side, Scotland made an impressive 89 for four thanks to rapid innings from Kyle Coetzer (33) and Ryan Watson and Navdeep Poonia, who both made 27.

But in the end their bowling could not quite match their batting with the Kiwis getting home with an over to spare.

Brendon McCullum, captaining in place of the injured Daniel Vettori, began the pursuit of the 90 New Zealand needed by striking four fours from Calum McLeod as 19 runs in all came off the first over.

Jesse Ryder continued the assault by launching Craig Wright for two huge sixes. But after a run of four successive boundaries, the left-hander holed out to McLeod off Wright.

Then 51 for one became 59 for two when McCullum was run out for 18 after a huge mix-up with Taylor.

Jacob Oram was given a reprieve when Gordon Drummond dropped a miscued effort and knocked the ball on four. But next delivery the giant all-rounder holed out off Watsom whose lone over cost just four runs. That left New Zealand 68 for three.

New Zealand got the target down to 22 off 12 balls but then scored the runs they needed in just one over from medium-pacer Stander, who had two sixes scored off him by Taylor and one by Scott Styris.

Scotland made a blistering start with the bat. They plundered 18 runs off the first over with Zimbabwe born and South Africa raised Watson striking four fours off Iain O’Brien.

New batsman Kyle Coetzer kept the tempo high with a superb off-driven six against medium-pacer Ryder and next ball followed that up with a four.

At the end of the fifth over Scotland were 67 for one. But Scotland lost three wickets off successive balls in the last over of their innings from seamer Ian Butler, who finished with three wickets for 19 runs from his two overs.

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Heavy overnight rain threatens to wash out India’s opening ICC World Twenty20 encounter against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Saturday.

It started raining late Friday evening and has since lashed the city through the night.

The weather forecast is also not too bright, with more rainfall predicted for rest of the day.

Defending champions India play their first match of the tournament but with the rain showing no signs of relenting, the chances of a game looks very bleak at the moment.

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