London, Aug 2: Virender Sehwag, who missed the first two Tests because of a shoulder injury, is set to join the beleaguered Indian team tomorrow even as the team management declared that opener Gautam Gambhir was fully fit for the next match.
Sehwag will join his teammates tomorrow and is expected to play the two-day game against Northamptonshire to check his fitness ahead of the third Test beginning at Birmingham on August 10.
The Indian team, trailing the four-match series 0-2 and battling with injuries to key players, got a boost with Gambhir being declared fit for the game. Gambhir sat out of the second Test because of an elbow injury.
“Gambhir has recovered from the injury. He is sure for the next Test,” Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.
The Indians are hopeful that pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, who was also ruled out of the second Test because of a hamstring strain, will be fit for the third.
Zaheer has started light practice sessions and will have to prove his fitness in the two-day game against Northamptonshire as it is unlikely that the Indians will risk selecting him without assessing his fitness.
Sehwag's arrival will serve as a big morale-booster for the embattled team which has not really lived upto its reputation as the number one Test side.
The 32-year-old opener, who missed the series in the West Indies and the first two Tests in England because of a shoulder surgery that had ruled him out for at least two months, is expected to bolster India's batting. PTI
