Dhoni defends Chawla's inclusion in World Cup squad

Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday defended Piyush Chawla's inclusion in India's 15-man World Cup squad, saying the leg-spinner's presence provides variety to the attack.

Chawla has been a surprise inclusion in the squad, announced on Monday by the Kris Srikkanth-led selection committee in Chennai.

"It is good to have Piyush in the side as he provides that variety to the attack. He is one guy who can bat a bit. He has scored decent runs in Ranji and also while playing in County circuit. If we plan to play with five bowlers, then he can be a handy number seven or eight batsman," Dhoni said on the eve of India's third ODI against South Africa.

Chawla has been picked despite not playing a one-dayer since July 2008, and Dhoni was aware of that.

"I would always say that playing in first class match or IPL match and playing in the international match is different. Piyush needs that international match practice," the India skipper said.

Names like Rohit Sharma, S Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma missed out on selection but Dhoni said that the reserve players should be in a proper frame of mind during the tournament.

"If you are in the reserve and if any batter or bowler gets injured then you are going to come in. So it is important to be in a good frame of mind," he said.

"Finally you can pick only 15 players. It is not like that you will not get chance. Have a look at the players out here. They were not featuring in the original list. At the end of the day you can pick only [...]