Dinesh Karthik has been flown in as a last minute back-up for injured India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni ahead of the second cricket Test against Sri Lanka starting here tomorrow.
The ability of New Zealand's top-order batsmen to overcome a recent history of poor starts may decide a closely contested three-Test cricket series against Pakistan beginning here on Tuesday.
The tourists missed Strauss's conviction in marshalling the side in the field and his batting is always valuable because he is such a fluid player when he is in form.