Yuvraj Singh returned to India's Test fold after a year along with senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh in the 15-member squad announced on Monday for the first two Tests against England starting November 15.
Yuvraj, who is on a comeback trail after recovering from a rare germ cell cancer, replaced Suresh Raina in the squad for the series which is a four-match affair.
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, has also been retained apparently after getting the physio's nod.
The team has seven specialist batsmen, three pacers, three spinners and one wicketkeeper batsman in skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The series starts in Ahmedabad from November 15, followed by the second Test in Mumbai (from November 23 to 27). The third Test is scheduled in Kolkata (December 5 to 9) and the final match will be played in Nagpur from December 13 to 17.
It is an emotional comeback for Yuvraj, who made his international return during the World Twenty20 Championships in Sri Lanka in September.
The all-rounder then went on to impress one and all with his fine performance in the Duleep Trophy for North Zone.
His 208 against Central Zone was followed by a 59 and a five-for against England for India A at the Brabourne Stadium last week, proving that he was fit for the rigours of five-day cricket.
Harbhajan, on the other, went wicketless in his 21 overs for Punjab against Hyderabad in Mohali but did reasonably well during a county stint for Surrey before this.
The presence of Vijay in the squad puts pressure on Sehwag and Gambhir to perform since Ajinkya Rahane is already in the side and can perform the role of an opener.
In the spin department, the selectors have opted for two off-spinners in R Ashwin and Harbhajan, while left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha adds variety in the absence of any leg-spinner.
Squad: 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.
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