India squad selected for South Africa tour

While senior pacer Zaheer Khan was selected for the South African series in the Test squad, senior batsman Gautam Gambhir was ignored.

Zaheer last played a Test match against England at home last December. He was recently dropped from the central contract list.

Zaheer had done well in the Ranji Tophy, picking 13 wickets, including a five-wicket haul, from the first three matches. Gambhir was also in good form and also hit a century against Haryana to fashion a big win for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy.

Besides Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh, who have also been dropped from the central contracts, were also ignored.

BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said that it was a normal procedure for selection. Speaking about Gambhir's exclusion, Patel said that many players were ignored.

India squad for ODI series
 
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane.
 
India squad for Test series
 
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Zaheer Khan, Ambati Rayudu, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja.