Question mark over Dhoni's availability

Will he or won't he?: Mahendra Singh Dhoni may opt of the Sri Lanka series for the sake of rest.

A day before the national selectors meet to pick India's Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka, much of the speculation surrounds the participation of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Unconfirmed reports suggest Dhoni may skip the series and, while his own public statements have not cleared the air either way, the Indian board says it is unaware of any such decision.

"He [Dhoni] hasn't informed us about sitting out of the Test series. If he wants to sit out, he is free to do so," Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said.

Midway through the recent Asia Cup in Pakistan recently, Dhoni spoke about fatigue as a result of back-to-back-matches. On Monday, he welcomed Shah's statement: "The board has done a good thing by saying that if someone needs rest, he can opt out."

This is not the first time Dhoni has considered opting out of a tour. In private, he had complained about exhaustion after India's triumph in the CB Series in Australia earlier this year. Despite recovering from a finger injury, he kept the suspense hanging over his availability before the Tests against South Africa, before going on to play the entire series. Since the rigorous IPL campaign with the Chennai Super Kings, Dhoni has played non-stop, leading the side during the Kitply Cup as well as the Asia Cup.

India's coach Gary Kirsten, writing on his website, expressed concern about packed schedules and how important it was for key players like Dhoni to take a break. If Dhoni does request a break, Dinesh Karthik, who was last part of the Indian squad for the Australian tour, is strongly favoured to be the replacement ahead of Parthiv Patel.

The BCCI is yet to decide on the actual strength of the squad due to fitness concerns from the fast bowlers. "We will only decide tomorrow," Shah said when asked if it will be a 15- or a 16-member squad.

Five questions before the selectors Gautam Gambhir is India's best one-day batsman in the current year. Has he done enough to oust Wasim Jaffer from the Test opener's slot? Does Suresh Raina, on current ODI form, deserve a place in the Test line-up? How many pace bowlers to pick? Two spinners are likely in the playing XI on the slow pitches in Sri Lanka, but considering the injury problems, should they have a fifth seamer in the squad as insurance? Is Irfan Pathan a risk considering that he failed to report his side strain to the selectors ahead of the Asia Cup, missed the initial games, and has been in poor form since? Will Pragyan Ojha be called into the squad as a back-up spinner ahead of Piyush Chawla?

What is certain, though, is the return of experience to the squad in the form of Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan. Kumble had to sit out of the last Test India played, against South Africa in Kanpur, while Tendulkar, who had opted out mid-way through the same series due to a groin injury, will submit a fitness certificate tomorrow. Zaheer has not played since his heel injury resurfaced after the first Test against Australia last year.

A big loss is the unavailability of Sreesanth, who has been advised a few more weeks' rest. That, and the below-par performances of RP Singh and Irfan Pathan, is the chief reason behind the selectors being hard-pressed to include Zaheer. Pathan is likely to get the axe due to his fitness. He failed to report his side strain to the selectors ahead of the Asia Cup, and missed the initial games and his bowling form since his return has been ordinary.

Among the slow bowlers, Harbhajan Singh is expected to return to the squad as the second spinner, having served the five-match ban imposed on him for slapping Sreesanth during an IPL game. If the selectors opt for a third spinner, the left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who made his ODI debut in the Asia Cup, is the frontrunner. "He qualified for the national team based on the long spells he's bowled on the domestic circuit and he brings variety," a national selector said about Ojha.

At the top of the order, Gautam Gambhir's solid performances in the one-dayers and the IPL might force the selectors to consider him ahead of Wasim Jaffer, who has looked scratchy in the last couple of series (in Australia, he made 49 runs in three Tests, while he only managed 126 runs in as many matches against South Africa).

In addition to the squad for the Sri Lanka Tests, the selectors will also pick a pool of 30 probables for the Champions Trophy in September in Pakistan.

Anderson relishes competition

James Anderson: 'We know he's there [Flintoff] but he's a completely different bowler to me so I'm just going to have to continue what I'm doing and if they pick him ahead of me then that's out of my hands'.

Andrew Flintoff might be the one name English cricket most wants to return to the top, but his looming presence isn't wavering James Anderson's focus ahead of the first Test against South Africa.

Flintoff hasn't played for England since the Sydney Test in 2007, but has bowled himself into terrific form for Lancashire this summer after overcoming ankle surgery in the winter. He was not picked for the first Test at Lord's, though few doubt the selectors will resist the urge to call him up at some point this summer. For Anderson, however, Flintoff's return is regarded "as an extra incentive".

"There's not just Fred [Flintoff] knocking on the door but there's also Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones now back bowling well and players like Sajid (Mahmood) and Liam Plunkett desperate to get back into the side," he said.

"You've got all these guys taking wickets regularly so you know you've got to keep doing the same if you're going to keep your place. It's not just Fred we're looking over our shoulders at, although he's obviously the biggest of the lot trying to get back. We know he's there but he's a completely different bowler to me so I'm just going to have to continue what I'm doing and if they pick him ahead of me then that's out of my hands."

Though the return of Flintoff is hotly anticipated, sneaking up on the inside is Jones. After moving from Glamorgan to Worcestershire in the winter, he has taken 26 wickets in five Championship games, nudging 90mph. He hasn't played since his key role in the 2005 Ashes and Anderson admitted that he and his colleagues have been keeping a keen eye on the performances of former England bowlers.

"When we're in the dressing room we all look at each other's counties to see how they're getting on so we all know who's doing well and what other people are doing," he said. "I've been in the same situation as them when I've gone back to Lancashire and I had to bowl well and take wickets consistently for my county to try and get myself back in the team. I've been in their position and I know how they're feeling and how frustrating it is when you can't get back into the team, but all of them who are trying to get back into the team are my mates, I've been on tours and played with them so I hope they do well - I just hope I do better than them to keep my place!"

He added: "We were talking the other day about how the four pace bowlers from the 2005 Ashes are now all back bowling again, fit and taking wickets.

"From mine, Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom's points of view we're hoping they don't get the chance to bowl again together for England - if we do keep them out of the team that obviously means we're doing well which has to be a good thing."

We never had a reply for Mendis - Dhoni

Yuvraj Singh was bowled off the second ball he faced from Ajantha Mendis.

A tournament deserves the final it gets, it is said sometimes. On the surface, the Asia Cup, with its long-drawn format featuring as many minnows as regular teams, got the final it deserved: another one-sided contest. But scratch the surface and you find a match that ebbed and flowed, one with three individual performances of sheer genius which the tournament badly needed.

"After the game it looked one-sided," Mahela Jayawardene said. "Going into the game it wasn't one-sided at all."

India appeared to have run away with both bat and ball at the start but Sri Lanka fought back. Ishant Sharma took quick wickets to reduce Sri Lanka to 67 for 4 and Virender Sehwag's opening salvo tore their new-ball attack apart. However, while India's bowlers recovered from Sanath Jayasuriya's onslaught to restrict Sri Lanka to 273 their batsmen were unable to decode Ajantha Mendis and the run-chase never recovered from his mesmerising opening spell.

"Sanath took his chances even when they were four down," Mahendra Singh Dhoni said. "They took chances because they had in their minds that we were capable of chasing 300. It was a brilliant innings." Jayawardene said that although Mendis deservedly stole the glory, it was Jayasuriya's knock that kept them in the final.

Virender Sehwag's innings, a 36-ball 60 that would in most circumstances be enough to chase of 274, threatened to eclipse Jayasuriya before it was cut short. He flicked, glanced, pulled, drove straight and through covers, late-cut, and kept everyone rapt.

"I had no option at that time [but to introduce Mendis in the ninth over]," said Jayawardene. "Virender was batting very well, and we needed to take a wicket. I knew the ball would be too new for Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan]. We just took a gamble."

The contest had a tantalizing build-up. Sri Lanka had rested Mendis in their Super Four match against India, which, if they had won, would have virtually knocked India out of the competition. Instead they chose to rest Mendis, perhaps in order to spring a surprise in the final. It was only his eighth ODI and the challenge facing Mendis was formidable: he had to try and end Sehwag's aggression during the first Powerplay in a tournament final.

Perhaps out of over-confidence or merely because he treats spin with disdain, Sehwag tried to step out to Mendis' first ball but had to defend. He tried to do it again the very next delivery but this time Mendis beat him in flight and cut the leg break past the bat, leaving Kumar Sangakkara with an easy stumping.

In the overs to come, as if every wicket that fell to Mendis' guile enhanced his mystery in the Indian dressing-room, the batsmen played a succession of injudicious shots. Mendis' simplicity prevailed over all of them. He stuck to an immaculate in-between length, which made the batsman uncomfortable playing on either on the front or back foot. His stock delivery remained the straighter one, and the Indian batsmen reacted like rats to the Pied Piper.

Dhoni, whose innings stood out for its sensible approach, was mesmerised even at the press-conference. For every question demanding explanations for the defeat, he the same answer: Mendis.

"Most of our batsmen couldn't pick him," Dhoni said. "We had never played him before. We had only seen videos and you can visualise and all, but he was difficult to pick out there in the middle. We never had any real reply against him."

Why did they make the defensive move of playing an extra batsman? "The main reason to add one batsman was Mendis," Dhoni said. "Our bowlers did well to restrict them to 273, and Mendis bowled well and that was the reason we lost.

"It was like you were playing something else, and the ball was something else. I won't really blame the batsman, we couldn't pick the deliveries. If you see our bowling, it was the best bowling line-up we could offer when we wanted one more extra batsman in the side. They tried their best and we could have got 274 but for the Mendis factor."