RP Singh included in India's World Twenty20 squad

May 4, 2009

Fast bowler Rudra Pratap Singh has been included in India's 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 in England in June. Reserve wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and fast bowler Munaf Patel have been axed from the 16-member squad that played two Twenty20 internationals in New Zealand in February.

There were no surprises in the squad which was more or less was finalised after the national selectors held a preliminary meeting in Cape Town on April 24, in the presence of N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary.

RP has been one of the IPL's most successful bowlers, taking 12 wickets in six games for the Deccan Chargers at an average of 11.33 and economy rate of 6.27 runs per over.

The selectors did not pick Mumbai Indians allrounder Abhishek Nayar who has also been impressive during the IPL. Nayar, who bowls medium pace and is a powerful hitter in the middle-order, has scored 102 runs in six innings this season at a strike-rate of 143. He has also taken four wickets and conceded only 5.90 runs per over. Karthik has also been in good form for Delhi Daredevils but couldn't find a spot as the selectors decided a reserve wicketkeeper was not necessary for the two-week tournament in England.

Squad: MS Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan Pathan.