Post-defeat, selectors mull leggie option, Harbhajan place uncertain

Kolkata : Indian spin bowlers proving ineffective in the second test against England in Mumbai — which the visitors won Monday by 10 wickets — has prompted the selectors to look at giving skipper M S Dhoni the option of including a leg-spinner in the side.

The squad for the next two tests in Kolkata and Nagpur is to be picked Tuesday.

If a leg-spinner is to be included in the side to add variety then he will take the place of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, one selector said. The options before the selectors to complement off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha are Haryana’s Amit Mishra and Uttar Pradesh’s Piyush Chawla. “However, Dhoni will have to take a call on the inclusion of the leg-spinner,” the selector said.

Mishra took five wickets against Baroda during the on-going Ranji game in Rohtak but Chawla has struggled to attain form after a recurring thumb injury. Harbhajan took only two lower-order wickets in Mumbai, his first test in over a year.

Also, fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who missed the second test because of a back problem, is all but ruled out of the third test beginning December 5 in Kolkata.