MS Dhoni declared fit for Kanpur Test

Indian captain MS Dhoni has been declared fit to play the second Test against Sri Lanka in Kanpur starting tomorrow. Dhoni hurt his finger during the Ahmedabad Test which ended in a dull draw last Friday and the team management rushed wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik to the city as a last minute back-up. Karthik will now return to Dharamshala to join his Tamil Nadu team-mates for the Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh, also starting tomorrow.

Dhoni had arrived at Green Park on Sunday without any taped fingers nor did he seem in any sort of pain. He batted his full quota during training, hit powerful, flat-bat strokes, and enthusiastically bowled seam-up immediately after removing his batting pads.

With Karthik returning, the left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha too could be released for Hyderabad's Ranji Trophy match. India are likely to persist with Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra for Kanpur.

Dhoni had played an important role in the first Test, scoring a century and adding 224 runs with Rahul Dravid, a partnership that helped India reach 426 in the first innings after a top-order collapse. He then held a spectacular diving catch to his left to dismiss the Sri Lankan opener Tharanga Paranavitana.

Sri Lanka, however, were not so lucky. They lost Dammika Prasad, who suffered a grade one hamstring strain, for the second Test. Prasad's spot could be taken by Dilhara Fernando or Ajantha Mendis, should Sri Lanka play a third spinner.

"We are not considering Dammika for this match," Kumar Sangakkara said. "He is recovering very well and we hope he will be available for selection for the third and final game in Mumbai. Prasad's injury means we can play three spinners if we want to."