Selectors to pick Test squad on Thursday

The national selectors, who are meeting in Bombay on Thursday to choose two extra players, have decided to restrict their choice to the 13 probables who were left out before India's Asia Cup campaign began.

The national selectors picked 27 players for a coaching camp in Bangalore earlier this month. Of these, 14 were selected to play for India in the Asia Cup. The series against hosts Sri Lanka, comprising two Tests and three ODIs, commences immediately after the Asia Cup quadrangular ends on Saturday, and for this, the selectors will pick a further two players to augment the side.

The choice will be made from among the 13 who did not make the Asia Cup squad -- namely, middle order batsmen Vinod Kambli, V V S Laxman, Ajay Sharma, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and S Sharath; spinners Venkatapathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan, medium pacers Harvinder Singh and Robin Singh Junior; opening batsmen Amay Khurasia and Gagan Khoda, wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia and all-rounder Ajit Agarkar.

Senior selector Kishen Rungta said the selectors would consult captain Sachin Tendulkar and coach Madan Lal during the lunch break in Thursday's key India-Bangladesh tie before finalising their pick.

When the 14 players for the Asia Cup were picked, there was considerable controversy over the omission of Kambli and Mongia, apparently against the captain's wishes. Interestingly, Rungta indicated that the possibility of recalling one or two players who are part of the Asia Cup squad cannot be ruled out.