Laxman pulls out, Sachin springs a surprise

Chennai, Oct 1 (UNI) Former cricketer V V S Laxman's hopes of getting back into the one-day side suffered a jolt when the star Hyderabadi pulled out of the Challenger Series tournament for the N K P Salve trophy due to a harmstring injury.

Laxman, who was aiming for a berth in the world cup team after being ignored for the Champions Trophy, was picked for the India Green side along with deposed Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly.

But Laxman had pulled out of the Challenger series due to the injury he had suffered during the Moin-ud-Dwala All India cricket tournament in Hyderabad recently.

Tamil Nadu middle order batsman R Satish has been announced as a replacement for Laxman.

Meanwhile, master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar sprang a surprise by deciding to play in the opening match of the Challenger series against India Reds.

Sachin, picked for the Indian Blues, had earlier announced that he would miss the tournament opener to take some rest.

However, he decided against it and was drafted into the final eleven, which meant that Wasim Jaffer, expected to open the innings along with Sehwag, was dropped along with leftarmer R P Singh.

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