NEW DELHI: India today picked ace batsman Rahul Dravid for their squad for the Champions Trophy tournament in South Africa in September, nearly two years after his last one-day international. The former captain, who played his last ODI in October 2007 against Australia in Nagpur, was among a 30-strong squad named by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Dravid, 36, has scored 10,585 runs from 333 games. The batting stalwart paved his way for a return to ODIs after playing a key role in the success of Royal Challengers Bangalore during the second season of the IPL. He scored 271 runs at a strike-rate of 115.81 as the team finished runners-up in the tournament held in South Africa in May-June. Superstar Sachin Tendulkar, who had asked to be rested from India’s West Indies tour, also returned to the squad. The eight-nation tournament will be held from September 24 to October 5.