Yuvraj named in India's World T20 preliminary squad

Yuvraj Singh, who has started training after recuperating from a rare germ cell cancer, was named in India's 30-member list of probables for the World Twenty20 Championships in Sri Lanka.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who is on the sidelines since quite some time due to poor form, was also named in the provisional list, which will be pruned to a 15-member squad later.

Promising youngsters Mandeep Singh, wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha and Ambati Rayudu also found a place in the list, announced by the BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale on Wednesday.

Yuvraj, who started training at Bangalore's National Cricket Academy after undergoing chemotherapy in the United States earlier this year, is targetting a return to international cricket with the World Twenty20 Championships.

The 30-year-old Yuvraj was expected to make the cut at least in the preliminary list given that the selectors were themselves keen on having the flamboyant left-hander back in the squad.

"I think a guy who has won the World Cup for us deserves to come back," chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth had stated.

Surprise picks in the squad are long-forgotten pacer Laxmipathy Balaji, who has not played a Twenty20 for the national team. In fact, Balaji's last ODI appearance for the country was back in 2009 against Sri Lanka.

The rest of the squad features players who have been in and out of the team on a rotational basis.

Youngsters in the line-up include batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who will be filling up for Sachin Tendulkar in the upcoming tour of Sri lanka, and Shikhar Dhawan, who endured an indifferent tour of the West Indies with the India 'A' squad.

The IPL effect was there to be seen in the squad with the selectors including 20-year-old Mandeep Singh.

The Kings XI Punjab player, who is a former under-19 captain, was rewarded for a fine showing with his franchise in the fifth edition of the IPL.

Rayudu also got in on the merit of consistent IPL performances for Mumbai Indians.

Regular stars such as Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan have been expectedly included.

Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R. Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Mandeep Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Naman Ojha, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, L Balaji.