From rxpgnews.com
R.P. Singh stays back for Tests for injured Sreesanth
By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS,
May 15, 2007 - 8:08:00 PM
Chittagong, May 15 - Pacer Rudra Pratap Singh, who did not get a chance to play in India's 2-0 One-day International series win against Bangladesh, will stay back for the Test series after Sreesanth failed a fitness test here Tuesday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India - announced Tuesday evening that Sreesanth, who is suffering from a left calf injury, had failed a fitness conducted by team physiotherapist John Gloster here earlier in the day.
'Following his fitness test today, there are some areas of his recovery that are still not complete. Despite the best efforts to treat his injury he will not be 100 percent fit at the start of the first Test match Friday,' BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said in a statement received here.
'He will continue to require treatment for this soft tissue injury for another seven days as per the report of Gloster. Looking at the - injury, it was decided by the selection committee to call back Sreesanth,' he said.
Sreesanth played the first ODI in Dhaka and bowled only five overs without taking a wicket before leaving the field for the dressing room.
He is the fourth player to be injured, and it all started during the preparatory camp in Kolkata.
Sachin Tendulkar twisted his ankle and captain Rahul Dravid bled from his nose after being hit by a Singh bouncer.
After the team arrived here, Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwari, who was hoping to make his debut, injured his right shoulder at practice and had to return home for surgery.
Singh's staying back means that Robin Uthappa was the only player in the 14-member ODI squad who did not play the rain-affected ODI series. He could have played here Tuesday after being included in the XII, but soggy ground conditions prevented the match from taking place at all.
Dravid said if Uthappa or Singh could not get a chance in the ODIs it was because the circumstances were beyond his control.
'It is a game of 11 people. You got to try and play what you can, what the situation demands. You play what you think is your best XI. There is nothing you can do about the fact that there is rain and you can't play the third game,' he said.
'You can hope to try and give as many people as you can opportunities, but sometimes circumstances or situations don't allow you to do that. There is nothing you can do about that.'
The first Test starts here Friday.
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