Indian Squad announced against England Test:Yuvraj, Harbhajan return to Test team, Raina dropped

           Yuvraj Singh staged a remarkable comeback to the Test fold, while struggling off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also returned from wilderness as India named a 15-member squad on Monday for the first two Tests against England starting November 15.The 30-year-old, who fought back after being diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer last year, forced his way back into the squad after commendable performances in the domestic circuit.Harbhajan also got the nod from the new selection panel headed by former Test cricketer Sandeep Patil more than a year after his last appearance in a five-day game.

Harbhajan Singh

                    There were no major surprises by the selectors, who dropped Suresh Raina to accommodate Yuvraj while Harbhajan made his way at the expense of injured leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.Sachin Tendulkar, the seniormost member of the squad, will provide solidity in an otherwise inexperienced middle-order line-up which will also have the in form Virat Kohli. Cheteshwar Pujara and Yuvraj will be the others in the middle order.Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay was also named in the squad as a reserve opener though the selectors retained the experienced duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir despite both of them going through a form slump for a long time.The team has seven specialist batsmen, three pacers, three spinners and one wicketkeeper batsman in skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Yuv Raj SIngh

                                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.The all-rounder then went on to impress one and all with his fine performance in the Duleep Trophy for North Zone.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.

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.