> Agarkar declared fit, ready for action

National chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar was in a jovial mood on Thursday evening. He had a good reason to.

Medium-pacer Ajit Agarkar had just been declared fit to tour South Africa with the Indian team for the One-day series starting on November 19.

"Very good news... He is an important and experienced player. He has toured South Africa before, so his experience will come in handy," Vengsarkar told TOI on Friday.

Punjab paceman VRV Singh was chosen as a standby for Agarkar just in case he failed the fitness test on November 10. Now, VRV will have to hope to get a look-in for Tests.

Vengsarkar's reaction probably is rooted in a small statistic : in the 21 ODIs that Agarkar has played in 2006 he has picked up 28 wickets (avg: 26.53). Alongwith off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, he has been the in-form bowler for India.

But Agarkar suffered a hairline fracture on the left thumb during India's loss to West Indies at Ahmedabad on October 26 during the Champions Trophy. Thereafter, Agarkar was replaced by Kerala's S Sreesanth for India's last match against Australia.

No wonder the man himself sounded relieved when he was eventually passed fit by team physio John Gloster after a session with the Mumbai Ranji team at MCA's Bandra Kurla Complex training centre. "It was frustrating with a question mark on me over how long I may be out. However, the physio, doctor and me were confident that I will be back soon," said Agarkar.

Agarkar has been training first with old mate Amol Muzumdar and then the Mumbai team since last week.

The wiry bowler felt the pinch of his omission when he saw India lose to Australia which led to the home team's early exit. "We have not had the best of performances. At such a stage you would want a full squad and when it doesn't happen, it's sad."

For Agarkar, the pain around the thumb has subsided and he is thankful that the injury did not limit him from training.

"It wasn't my worst injury, but there was pain when I batted. Today I batted and am feeling good. The movement of the thumb is also much better. Another two weeks and the pain would be gone."