CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu opener Abhinav Mukund made a comeback to the Test squad after a gap of almost six years as the MSK Prasad-led selection committee named a 16-member side for the one-off Test against Bangladesh starting in Hyderabad on February 9.
The other notable inclusion in the side was of wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha in place of Parthiv Patel, who had replaced him for the last three Tests against England.
There was also drama over the presence of BCCI joint-secretary Amitabh Choudhary. Abhinav, who led Tamil Nadu to a semifinal finish in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy, has been among the runs of late. He started the domestic season with a century in Duleep Trophy. He tallied 849 runs in 10 Ranji fixtures that included four hundreds and three fifties.
"I've no words to explain this. It is emotional, but at the same time feels great to be back in the side," said the left-hander, who averaged 65.30 in the Ranji season.
The 27-year-old played five Tests in 2011, in the West Indies and England, when regular openers were not available. He made 211 runs at 21.10 with 62 against England as highest.
The selection committee of Prasad, Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi was supposed to meet at 12 noon on Tuesday. But with joint-secretary Choudhary insisting he would chair the meeting, proceedings were delayed until afternoon.
The newly appointed panel of administrators, led by Vinod Rai, objected Choudhary's presence, saying he is not eligible to perform this role following the Supreme Court order on Monday.
However, there was no clarity on his status as sources in the panel revealed he can continue as joint-secretary if he signs an undertaking that he will comply with Lodha recommendations. After confusion, the selection meeting got underway at 6 pm and lasted around 40 minutes.
The selectors also included the fit-again Saha, Ajinkya Rahane, Jayant Yadav and Hardik Pandya in the squad led by Virat Kohli. Abhinav's inclusion meant there was no place for Shikhar Dhawan or Gautam Gambhir.
Murali Vijay and KL Rahul are the first-choice openers and there is a possibility that Abhinav might get a longer run in the side, with Australia set to follow Bangladesh for a four-Test series beginning in the last week of February.
Squad: Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Abhinav Mukund, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya.