Dravid, pace attack composition problems for selectors

Mumbai, Jan 19 (UNI) The national selectors have a lot on their hands when they sit down here tomorrow to select India's one-day team for the triangular series down under, beginning after the Test series.

The main dilemma for the selectors is the selection of Rahul Dravid for the ODIs. Dravid, who was left out of the one-day team during India's home series against Pakistan, will give the selectors enough headaches on whether to choose him or not as since then he has rediscovered his form and is still a very capable one-day player.

The other major problem is the composition of the pace attack with it being weakened by the heel injury-induced absence of spearhead Zaheer Khan, who is not available for the series as well as the one-off Twenty20 international against hosts Australia preceding it on February 1.

More importantly, the lack of form of Yuvraj Singh, to accommodate whom Dravid was asked to open Down Under in Tests, has left a huge hole in the middle order as men-in-form, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, are expected to open the innings. Another middle order Test mainstay, V V S Laxman is no longer in the selectors' radar for the 50-over-a-side game.

Virender Sehwag, who has opened the innings in the ongoing Perth Test with some success, has also come back into the reckoning for the ODIs.

The selectors would surely be tempted to give back Dravid his one-day slot, especially when the young middle order batsmen, Robin Uthappa and Rohit Sharma, have not exactly been in peak form in domestic cricket.

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