Yuvraj Singh on Monday returned to India’s Test team after a year’s absence, replacing Suresh Raina. Along with senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, the all-rounder has been named for the 15-member squad for the first two Tests of the four match rubber against England starting Nov. 15.
The new selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil also included Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay in place of S Badrinath, who featured in the last Test against New Zealand in August. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, who is nursing a thumb injury, has been left out of the squad paving the way for Harbhajan to return to the Test fold after a gap of more than a year.
Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, whose fitness was under the scanner after he limped off the field during during a Ranji Trophy match on Sunday, has also been retained apparently after getting the physio’s nod.
The squad for first and second Tests: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Zaheer Khan.
—-PTI