Fit Zaheer looks set to return

The left-armer likely to be back after shoulder injury as Indian selection committee meets to pick the squad for the three-match home series against Sri Lanka.

Zaheer Khan, the left-arm fast bowler could be set for a return to Test cricket when the Indian selection committee meet in Mumbai today to pick the squad for the three-match home series against Sri Lanka. Zaheer, who recently returned to first-class cricket after undergoing shoulder surgery, is likely to be selected to bolster India's pace attack.

The selection panel, led by the former India opening batsman Krishnamachari Srikkanth, would be keen to have Zaheer's experience, which could be crucial if India are to stretch their home record of not losing a Test series to Sri Lanka in their previous 14 encounters. Zaheer last played in a Test against New Zealand in Wellington in April. He has taken 210 wickets in 65 matches. His former new-ball partner Ashish Nehra is also looking to make a comeback in the longer version of the game after a five-year hiatus.

Nehra - who is also a left-arm fast bowler - could be back in Test cricket, having played the last of his 17 matches against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2004. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara believes the pressure would be on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men when the series starts. "We have a lot of work to do, but we are here to do well and try and win," he said. "The responsibility is on India to stop us from doing that. The pressure is always on the home side."

The first Test begins in Ahmedabad on November 16, while the second and third matches are in Kanpur from November 24 to 28 and in Mumbai from December 2 to 6. * With agencies