Bangalore, March 17: Strange are the ways of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). This much, at least, was clear when the five national selectors assembled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium to pick a 14-member Test squad on Monday afternoon.

They decided to rest a recovering Ishant Sharma for the first match of the three-Test series against South Africa, retained a fit RP Singh and recalled Sreesanth, but many of the other important decisions taken by the selection committee seemed to defy logic.

Yuvraj Singh, who reached a day late at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to undergo a fitness Test, was retained in the squad. Despite the selectors mincing no words in blaming the left-hander for attending a fashion show on Saturday night but not showing up at the NCA on Sunday morning, Yuvraj retained his place in the team on Monday.

The Punjab left-hander had a poor outing in Australia, scoring only 17 runs in the Tests and 214 in the ODIs.

But Gautam Gambhir, who top-scored in the Australia one-dayers with 440 runs, including two centuries, was not included.

The drama behind Yuvraj’s fitness test and selection seemed unnecessary, but the selection of his state-mate Harbhajan Singh — who was also expected to undergo a fitness test with Yuvraj but didn’t turn up in Bangalore even today — was equally baffling.

As things stand, Harbhajan has been included without a test (for a left hamstring injury) and will have to arrive in Bangalore on March 21 to prove his fitness to NCA trainer Paul Chapman and physio Paul Close. If Harbhajan fails the test, he will be replaced by leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.

When asked why Harbhajan had been named despite uncertainty over his health, Shah told the press conference: “The selection part is not for me to answer, please ask the selectors.”

Replacement killer

The selectors also named left-arm spinner Murali Kartik in the team, keeping in mind that the touring Proteas have a known weakness against quality spin. But there had been doubts over his participation after the bowler got injured while playing a Deodhar Trophy match in Bangalore — which was being watched by the selectors. Kartik tripped over the boundary rope, twisted his ankle and was carried off the field. Medical reports will arrive on Tuesday morning.

“If Kartik is injured then Piyush Chawla will replace him,” said Shah. When asked how Chawla could replace both Harbhajan and Kartik, the board secretary failed to provide a convincing answer.

This means the selectors were hoping either Harbhajan or Kartik would be declared fit. Kartik has already been ruled out, and if Harbhajan also fails to clear the test, there is bound to be confusion again.

Test for Dhoni, not Sachin

The board has also asked Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to undergo a fitness session in Bangalore on March 21. “If Dhoni fails the fitness test, he will be replaced by Dinesh Karthik,” Shah said.

But Sachin Tendulkar, who had also been mentioned in outgoing physio John Gloster’s injury report, has not been asked to prove his fitness. Tendulkar had told reporters in Mumbai last week that he was fine, and the board appears to have taken his word for it.

The team will assemble on March 22 in Chennai and the first Test starts on March 26.