Sreesanth gets call-up for T20, ODIs

Pacer S Sreesanth was rewarded for his impressive return to international cricket with berths in India's T20 and One-day squads for the series against Sri Lanka, beginning December 9.

Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were rested for the two Twenty20 matches, while Bengal paceman Ashok Dinda and Tamil Nadu all-rounder R Ashwin are the two new faces in the squad.

Delhi pacer Ashish Nehra also found a place in both the squads, announced by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan after a meeting of the selection meeting on Wednesday.

Sudeep Tyagi, who was in India's One-day squad during the recent series against Australia, has been retained in the squad for the two T20 matches and the first two ODIs.

Struggling Ishant Sharma was included in the T20 squad, but omitted from the ODI team, which has Zaheer, Praveen Kumar, Nehra, Sreesanth and Tyagi as specialist pace bowlers.

Opener Gautam Gambhir, who skipped the ongoing third and final Test against Sri Lanka to attend his sister's wedding, was named in both the squads, which will be led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The national senior selection committee, headed by former captain K Srikkanth, opted to give a chance to a few youngsters who have done well in the domestic circuit.

The 25-year-old paceman Dinda shot into limelight in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League and is a consistent performer for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy.

Ashwin is a promising off-spin bowler and also a useful batsman down the order. His all-round abilities will provide variety to the team in the shortest format of the game.

Squads:

Twenty20: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Kartick, Yusuf Pathan, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Ashok Dinda, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ojha and Rohit Sharma.

For first two ODIs: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, Sudeep Tyagi and Virat Kohli.