Tri-series squad: More R & R

This is India's squad for the tri-series involving Sri Lanka and New Zealand:

MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Saurabh Tiwary

Sachin gets more rest from ODIs, which is fair, because the side can start to adjust to life without his mammoth presence, only for him to slot back in a few months later to win the World Cup. And then retire. It's the one great-looking piece of an otherwise ugly jigsaw puzzle.

Harbhajan gets some rest, because he's done so well. More importantly, it gives Ojha more games to try to prove that he's a better first choice bowler in the shorter formats.

Instead of giving him a chance to find form, the selectors have rested Gambhir. Why? So that Karthik, his replacement, can re-prove his benchability.

Snideness aside, the batting actually looks solid - and Kohli and Rohit Sharma will finally be tested against opposition that isn't Sri Lanka.

Yuvraj pops back into the squad, and I for one am confident that we'll be seeing the best of him at some point this series.

Weapons of mass futility Jadeja and Ashwin find seats on the plane (or boat, depending on the budget).

Saurabh Tiwary remains in the squad; he knows what drinks everyone likes. And Ishant Sharma's economy rate just isn't bad enough.

Mithun gets a chance to improve on his promising Test debut. Or get smashed around, we just don't have enough buffet bowling these days.

A series-winning squad? Maybe.

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