Sehwag, Pathan out, Dravid all set to open

Melbourne, Dec 25 (UNI) Rahul Dravid is all set to open India innings in the first Test against Australia tomorrow as the visiting team management has decided to leave out Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Karthik from the final 12.

Punjab southpaw Yuvraj Singh was also rewarded for his superb hundred in Bangalore in the third and final Test against Pakistan earlier this month and he will now bolster the middle order.

Dravid will return to open the innings with Wasim Jaffer after a gap of two years and the former captain has already stated he is willing to bat at any position for the team's sake.

In the bowling department, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is most likely to pair up with skipper Anil Kumble though Delhi pacer Ishant Sharma was also among the final 12.

Rookie pacer Pankaj Singh and left armer Irfan Pathan were the other bowlers left out.

India Final 12: Anil Kumble (capt), Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wk), Zaheer Khan, R P Singh, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh UNI