AHMEDABAD (India), Nov 7: Middle-order batsman Mohammad Kaif and rookie fast bowler Vikram Rajvir Singh were on Monday included in India’s squad for the last two One-day Internationals against Sri Lanka this week.

Kaif, a one-day regular, returns after missing the first five matches of the current series due to a hamstring injury suffered in a domestic tournament last month.

Singh, a lanky 21-year from Punjab, is regarded by many as India’s fastest bowler and forced his way in after a string of good performances in only his second first-class season.

The duo replace batsman Venugopal Rao and all-rounder Jai Prakash Yadav, who helped India gain a wining 4-1 lead in the seven-match series against the Sri Lankans.

“It was a tough call to drop Rao and Yadav,” said chairman of selectors Kiran More.

“But Kaif is an outstanding player and was an automatic choice after recovering from injury.

“Singh is one of the most exciting prospects in Indian cricket and we will watch him closely.”

There was still no place for former captain Saurav Ganguly, one of only four batsmen in one-day cricket to surpass 10,000 runs.

The left-hander, asked to prove his form and fitness by the selectors after suffering an elbow injury, scored a century and 14 in two domestic first-class matches over the last two weeks.

The sixth one-dayer against Sri Lanka will be played in Rajkot on Wednesday and the seventh in Baroda on Saturday.

India are also due to play a five-match limited-overs series at home against South Africa later this month.

SQUAD: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Sri Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Vikram Rajvir Singh.—AFP