MUMBAI, India, March 17 – Young fast bowler Ishant Sharma was ruled out of this month’s first test against South Africa on Monday as Indian selectors grappled with fitness issues following a long and difficult tour of Australia.

The selectors named a 14-man squad for the first two tests of the three-match series beginning on March 26 but vice-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh must clear a fitness test on March 21.

Sharma, 19, was the find of the tour in Australia where India lost 2-1 in the four-test series that featured a divisive second test in Sydney marred by poor umpiring, but won the tri-series finals 2-0 against the hosts.

He suffered a toe injury during the tour and a finger injury after his return and was advised to take three weeks’ rest.

Indian Cricket Board secretary Niranjan Shah told reporters after the selection meeting in Bangalore, attended by new coach Gary Kirsten and test captain Anil Kumble, that Sharma would be considered for the second test if he recovered in time.

The first test will be played in Chennai from March 26 to 30 and the second in Ahmedabad from April 3 to 7.

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla will be on stand-by as cover for both Harbhajan and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, who was picked as third spinner, and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik for Dhoni, who is suffering from a finger sprain.

Kartik, who last played a test in 2004, sustained an ankle sprain while playing in a domestic match on Monday.

Left-arm fast bowler Rudra Pratap Singh comes back after missing the tri-series in Australia with a hamstring injury to bolster the pace attack in the absence of Zaheer Khan, ruled out with a foot injury since the second test in Sydney.

Squad: Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Vangipurappu Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble (captain), Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh. (Reporting by Sanjay Rajan; editing by Rex Gowar)

As we sing Hosannas of Dhoni and his boys-turned-men in blue in the wake of their CB series success, I feel that Indian cricket has turned a new chapter. The high-profile tour of Australia marked by acrimony and controversy coincided with the launch of the billion-dollar and revolutionary Indian Premier League. Add to this melting pot India winning the under-19 World Cup.

Indian cricket had never seen so much money being poured into it in such a short period nor a ODI series win of such magnitude, substance and significance. Dhoni’s team has virtually ended the Australian hegemony in world cricket as the kangaroos will now head to the outback to lick their wounds and reflect on the future.

Even as the Indian David slayed the Australian Goliath in the cricketing coliseums Down Under, one wondered whether the power balance has irrevocably shifted east not so much due to the financial muscle but sheer ability and performance.

One would like to believe that Indian cricket is moving in a direction that envisages exciting times with the young riding roughshod over experienced players. In keeping with today’s mantra of youth, Dhoni has already let it be known that he would rather gamble with 20-nothings rather than be saddled with 30-somethings. In this context, the very definition of being “old” takes a new connotation. Perhaps, Dhoni himself might contemplate retirement in four years time when he will be 30!

Looking back over the turbulent two months, the no-hopers Indian team transformed itself into a world-beater. After the Melbourne Test disaster, the Indians picked themselves up to put together a stirring display that sent out strong signals to the once mighty Aussies that their reign was nearing its end.