Ishant set for comeback, Gambhir in the race too

Mumbai, Fit-again pacer Ishant Sharma is likely to make a comeback when the national selection committee meets in Mumbai on Wednesday to pick the Indian team for the upcoming Test series against England, commencing from November 9. Although India trounced New Zealand 3-0 in the previous Test rubber, the selection panel, headed by MSK Prasad, will have quite a few things to consider before naming the team for what would be a five-match rubber.
Injury to opener KL Rahul in the opening Test at Kanpur and the indisposition of Ishant Sharma gave the selectors an opportunity to recall veteran opener Gautam Gambhir and off-break bowler Jayant Yadav for the second Test at Kolkata. Gambhir did not play at Eden Gardens but got a chance to renew his interrupted career after a two-year gap when Shikhar Dhawan suffered a finger injury at Kolkata and was ruled out of the third and final Test at Indore.
It would be interesting to see whether the selectors repose faith in Gambhir, who made a half-century in the second innings at Indore, if both Rahul and Dhawan are fit to play. Gambhir also made 147 in Delhi’s last Ranji match against Odisha at Mohali. Ishant is expected to be included after recovering from chikungunya. The pacer, after recovering from the illness, has played two Ranji Trophy matches, and has bowled more than 40 overs.
Rahul, Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar doubtful
Rahul, Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are yet to prove their fitness as they haven’t played at all since they got injured. While Rahul and Dhawan are nursing a hamstring strain and an injured finger, respectively, Bhuvneshwar is dealing with an ankle injury. At the moment, it looks unlikely that the trio will feature in the initial stages of the series.
Meanwhile, the visiting England squad is scheduled to arrive in Mumbai from Bangladesh, where they drew the two-match rubber, on Wednesday. They are not scheduled to play any practice game and will have just one practice session on November 5 in the city before heading to Rajkot for the first Test, starting on November 9.
The other Tests of the series are slated to be held in Vishakapatnam (Nov 17-21), Mohali (Nov 26-30), Mumbai (Dec 8-12) and Chennai (Dec 16-20).