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| CricketZone.Com | IndiaExpress.Com ApunKaChoice.Com |
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NEWS Asia Cup 2004>Zaheer, Harbhajan come back as India announce squad for Asia Cup 07th July 2004 19.18 IST By CricketZone Bureau Left arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were on Wednesday named in India's 14-man squad for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka later this month. Zaheer and Harbhajan were out from the Indian team due to hamstring and finger injuries respectively. Harbhajan, who turned 24 last week, underwent surgery on his bowling hand after the first Test in Australia last December and missed the rest of the Test and one-day series against the world champions and the subsequent tour of Pakistan. "Harbhajan is a world-class bowler and it is great to have him back," said Indian coach John Wright of the spinner who has claimed 104 one-day wickets from 82 matches. Harbhajan will team up with veteran Anil Kumble to bolster India's spin attack in the six-nation tournament against defending champions Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Also back for the July 16-August 1 event is opening bowler Zaheer Khan, who missed the last two Tests against Pakistan in April because of a hamstring injury. Zaheer is one of the three left-arm seamers in the squad alongwith Ashish Nehra and Irfan Pathan. Laxmipathy Balaji takes the fourth fast bowling spot ahead of Ajit Agarkar. Sachin Tendulkar, the world's most prolific one-day batsman with a record 13,134 runs and 37 centuries, heads the strong Indian batting that includes skipper Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Venkatsai Laxman, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. Test wicket keeper Parthiv Patel has been retained in the squad despite the team management making it clear that Dravid will continue to don the gloves in one-day cricket to accommodate an extra batsman. "Dravid may not be a specialist wicket-keeper but he has been great behind the stumps over the last two years and we plan to continue with that policy," Ganguly said. It will be India's first international engagement since the tour of Pakistan in March-April when they won the Test series 2-1 and the one-dayers 3-2. The Asia Cup, the symbol of limited-overs supremacy in the continent, is being revived after four years following the resumption of bilateral cricketing ties between India and Pakistan. India have been placed in Group B of the preliminary league with hosts Sri Lanka and the UAE. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong are in Group A. Two teams from each group will qualify for the round-robin second stage, with the top two advancing to the final at the Premadasa stadium in Colombo on August 1. Squad: Saurav Ganguly (Capt.), Virender Shewag , Rahul Dravid , Sachin Tendulkar , V V S Laxman , Yuvraj Singh , Mohammad Kaif , Parthiv Ajay Patel , Anil Kumble , Harbhajan Singh , Zaheer Khan , Ashish Nehra , Irfan Pathan, Laxmipathy Balaji. Also View In-Depth Coverage: Asia Cup 2004 Team Page: India | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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