Sreenath Aravind replaces Umesh Yadav in Indian squad for last 2 ODIs vs South Africa

Sreenath Aravind on Monday replaced the right-arm pacer Umesh Yadav in the Indian squad for the final two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against South Africa. The tourists lead the five-match ODI series 2-1, and the final two ODIs will be played at Chennai and Mumbai on October 22 and 25 respectively. This is after four long years that the Karnataka player is making a comeback to the national side.  All eyes were on the Sandeep Patil-led selection panel’s meeting as they were expected to make the changes. The Indian team hasn’t enjoyed a good time in the coloured clothing since the ICC World Cup 2015. Barring a series against Zimbabwe, which saw a second string side led by Ajinkya Rahane tour the African country, the team hasn’t played to its potential. They were beaten comprehensively by Bangladesh in June 2015. The team that lost to the ‘Tigers’ was a full-strength squad led by Dhoni and consisted of players who had played the World Cup earlier this year. COMPLETE COVERAGE: India vs South Africa 2015

The team then went to Sri Lanka to play the Tests under Kohli and Dhoni got a rare off from cricket. When he returned after a three-month break to lead the side against South Africa, the team was expected to win both the T20I as well as the ODI series. But India lost the T20I series 2-0, raising questions on Dhoni’s ability to continue as a player and skipper. The protests against the beleaguered captain gained strength when he failed to get the team across the line in the first ODI at Kanpur, which India lost by a narrow margin of five runs.

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Dhoni however made a strong statement with his Man of the Match performance in the next ODI in Indore, which India won. But with India going down 1-2 at Rajkot, the selectors were bound to take some harsh calls, specially with lot of confusion surrounding the Indian middle-order and the batting positions.

India’s ODI squad for the final two ODIs vs South Africa (to be played at Chennai and Mumbai): MS Dhoni (c&wk), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, S Arvind, Stuart Binny, Ambati Rayudu, Gurkeerat Mann.