the national selectors have a tough task on their hand when they sit to pick the squad to play against England in the ODI series (Oct. 14 onwards) and a T20 (Oct. 29). Skipper MS Dhoni is likely to be rested in order to give his fingers some rest and regain full fitness before the tour of Australia. If Dhoni is to be rested then the debate of country versus club is bound to surface again and since BCCI is not coming out with a clear directive in this regard it's only adding to the confusion.

The cream of India's top order: Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, (undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA) Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma are unlikely to figure against England.

Gautam Gambhir is the obvious choice for leading in place of Dhoni but he could bat at No. 3 with Ajinkya Rahane and Parthiv Patel opening the innings.

Lack of experience could hit the team hard as only Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli will be the established names left in the toporder. S. Badrinath who flew in as replacement for Tendulkar to England might get another chance while Manoj Tiwary is expected to hold on to his place. Ravindra Jadeja who did his cause no harm will take the all-rounder slot while Yusuf Pathan's decent show in the CL might work in his favour.

With Harbhajan Singh having proved his match fitness and R. Ashwin doing reasonably well in England, the two specialist spinner's slot seem to be taken.

The selectors are to name a 15-member squad, which opens up four slots to medium pacers.

Of the five who toured England for the ODI leg, four are expected to be retained. Munaf Patel is injured. RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, R. Vinay Kumar and uncapped Varun Aaron are tipped to make the cut.