NEW DELHI – India Wednesday picked Yuvraj Singh, who is recovering from cancer, in a 30-man preliminary squad for the World Twenty20 to be played in Sri Lanka later this year. The 30-year-old, regarded as one of the most flamboyant batsmen in world cricket, completed chemotherapy in the United States in April after being diagnosed with a rare germ-cell tumor between his lungs early last year. Yuvraj, who has not played competitive cricket since the two home Tests against the West Indies in November, only recently began light training at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. It is not certain that Yuvraj will be selected in the final 15-man squad that must be finalized by mid-August for the Sept. 18-Oct. 7 tournament. The left-hander will need to play club cricket in the intervening period if he is to remain a serious contender for the tournament. Yuvraj, speaking in an International Cricket Council television show last month, declined to give a time frame on being match-fit. “I've done six or seven sessions of very light training and very light yoga,” he said. “I'm just getting back into the groove of being a normal person. “I can't really give a timeframe but I have to see how my body is recovering and how fast I can come on the field. I might take six months, I might take two months. So I don't know. But the day I feel 100 percent I surely will be back.” Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been out of favor since the England tour last year, was also named in the preliminary squad announced by the Indian board in a media release.The squad:Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Mandeep Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Naman Ojha, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Lakshmipathy Balaji.Pattinson, Lyon out of Australia's 30-man sidePaceman James Pattinson and offspinner Nathan Lyon have been left out of Australia's 30-man preliminary squad for the World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka. Chairman of selectors John Inverarity said in February that Lyon was a strong contender for the T20 tournament. Selectors also found no place Wednesday for Pattinson, whose impact in Twenty20 matches has not matched his Test record of 26 wickets in five matches. The squad: George Bailey, Travis Birt, Dan Christian, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Laughlin, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Andrew McDonald, Clint McKay, Dirk Nannes, Stephen O'Keefe, Tim Paine, Rob Quiney, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White. — Agencies
