Yuvraj dropped as Aaron, Binny get picked for New Zealand ODIs

Yuvraj Singh, who has endured a wretched run of form since his comeback from cancer, has been dropped from India’s one-day squad that will tour New Zealand next month. Yuvraj has four ducks in his last 13 innings while making just two scores over 50 this year, He made a second-ball duck in the first ODI in South Africa and was ruled out of the second game because of an illness. Jharkhand fast bowler Varun Aaron, who recently recovered from a stress fracture in his back, has been included in the ODI squad along with with Karnataka allrounder Stuart Binny and Madhya Pradesh seamer Ishwar Pandey. Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav are the two players to be dropped from the one-day squad. [caption id=“attachment_1316217” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Could this be the end of Yuvraj Singh’s international career? Reuters[/caption] There was only one change to the Test side, with Pandey receiving his maiden call-up in place of Pragyan Ohja, who did not get a game in South Africa. That India’s selectors have chosen six seamers in the Test and ODI squads not only reflects the likelihood that New Zealand will prepare a bunch of green tracks for the visitors, but also suggests a general unhappiness with the fast bowling department. The seamers disappointed in the ODIs in South Africa and struggled to defend a target of 458 on the fourth and fifth days of the first Test. Pandey is the most intriguing of the selections. He was the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy last season, taking 48 wickets at an average of 21.06, and has continued to roll over batsmen this season too. He has 30 wickets at 24.76 from eight games so far. Like most of India’s seamers, he bowls at speeds just north of 130 kph, but is able to swing the ball and can deliver surprising bounce because of his height. The inclusion of Aaron gives India a bowler who is genuinely quick, while Stuart Binny could be the bowling allrounder Dhoni craves in overseas conditions, at least in the one-day format. This season the 24-year-old Aaron has taken 20 wickets for Jharkhand at an average of 21.95 and a strike-rate of 46.8. More importantly he has bowled 156 overs in the process and shown no side effects from his injury, having modified his action to reduce the stress on his back. Meanwhile Binny had a good IPL for Rajasthan Royals and was part of the India A squad that toured South Africa earlier this year. Test squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishwar Pandey. ODI squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ishwar Pandey, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron.