Injury time before kick-off?

When Sandeep Patil and his fellow selectors meet on Monday to pick the Test squad to meet England, they will spend considerable time debating the fitness of two men — Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh.

On Sunday, after delivering the fifth ball of his 21st over, the 99th of Railways' innings against Mumbai, Zaheer collected his cap from the umpire and walked slowly off the field. A number of spectators at the Wankhede may have cast their minds back to a year ago, when Zaheer had limped off the field after bowling 13 overs in the first Test at Lord's. The left-arm seamer took no further part in the series; India lost 0-4.

Zaheer's trudge back to the Wankhede dressing room, for now, doesn't seem to have similar implications. Mumbai skipper Ajit Agarkar revealed that it was only a cramp that forced him off the field. "Zak's okay; he is cramping a bit. He should be okay tomorrow morning. He's bowled some 20 overs. It suddenly got a little humid, probably dehydrated a little bit," he said.

Agarkar played down concerns that the cramp could return to trouble him during the Tests. "Twenty overs is a fair workout. He is in good shape," he said.

The Yuvraj question

The other big question that will occupy the selectors' minds is Yuvraj's readiness for the physical demands of five-day cricket. A few days ago, skipper MS Dhoni had raised this concern. "In a Test match the opposition might bat for two days," he said. "If he (Yuvraj) stays in the field that long, it shouldn't reflect on his batting."

The selectors have kept an eye on Yuvraj during the Duleep Trophy match between North Zone and Central Zone in which the southpaw scored a double hundred and during the three-day tour game between India A and England XI, in which Yuvraj scored 59 and took five wickets. This is likely to win him a spot in the Test squad, according to a member of the selection panel.

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