Sreesanth recovering from stiff back

Sreesanth has recovered from the side strain that laid him low after the Indian Premier League and, though still suffering from a stiff back, is said to be targeting the India A game against New Zealand A in Chennai on September 21 for his return to national duty. Sreesanth is currently undergoing fitness training at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

He was not included in the Irani Trophy squad but selectors have dismissed the notion that he was dropped. "He has not been dropped, just that he has not been available for selection," said one selector. "If and when he is fully fit and has played some matches, I don't see why he won't be picked even by the new panel of selectors [to be appointed by end September]. He bowled very well even in the IPL and there is no problem with his attitude presently as far as I know."

Those views were echoed by Venkatesh Prasad, India's bowling coach. "I guess his selection will also depend on the bowling composition at that time [when he is available]. We are going to play quite a few games in India this year and we have Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel, with RP Singh too in the mix. It would be best for him to play matches, get match-fit and pick wickets to force his entry."

Sreesanth suffered a left side strain in the IPL during Kings XI Punjab's final league match on May 28 and played the semi-final, but only bowled one over. He finished the tournament with 19 wickets at 23.26 and was the joint second-highest wicket taker along with Shane Warne, three wickets behind Sohail Tanvir. Sreesanth last played for India in the Test series against South Africa in April 2008

While Sreesanth refused to speak to the press, saying he just wants to concentrate on getting fit and play some matches, Cricinfo has gathered from his coaches and friends that he has learnt from his previous mistakes of rushing back from injury. They believe Sreesanth over-exerted himself, bowling too much in the nets and in matches for Kerala during the pre-season domestic games, which worsened the side strain and also affected his back.