After undergoing treatment for cancer and making a fairytale comeback in the World T20, Yuvraj Singh has made a dramatic comeback into the Indian Test team for the first two Tests against England.
The newly-appointed selection committee, led by Sandeep Patil, met at the BCCI headquarters on Monday to pick a 15-member squad for the first two matches of the four-Test series against England, starting November 15.
The dashing left-hander proved his appetite for the longer format with a double century in the Duleep Trophy when he smashed an unbeaten 208 last month for North Zone in a match against Central.
India captain MS Dhoni had recently said that Yuvraj's Test selection depended on how exactly the southpaw manages to prove his match fitness and Yuvraj seems to have done that fine, by first playing the Duleep Trophy, then for India 'A' against England.
Yuvraj enters the Indian team at the expense of another left-hander Suresh Raina, who had been part of the team that played against New Zealand at home in September.
In fact, Yuvraj and Raina playing for India 'A' against the visiting England side had been billed as a contest to decide who makes it to the Test team as the Number 6 batsman. Yuvraj's half-century and a five-wicket haul seemed to have turned the tide in his favour.
On the other hand Harbhajan Singh too made a return in the Test team. He had played eight Tests, taken 29 wickets against it at home with five wickets in an innings twice at Mohali and Ahmedabad in the 2001-02 series.
The injury scares to opener Virender Sehwag and pacer Zaheer Khan were not serious to spoil their Test preparations. Opening batsman, Murali Vijay, was included as well after a good start to the domestic season.
Opening for Delhi in the Ranji clash against Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, Sehwag suffered a cut on his right index finger but later came out to bat at No. 6 to give an indication that the injury is a minor one and he will be fit for the first Test.
Similarly, Zaheer, who picked a wicket with the new ball in Mumbai's Ranji game against Railways, pulled out of the attack post tea and walked back to the dressing room after a brief chat with teammates Sachin Tendulkar and Ajit Agarkar.
Pacer Ishant Sharma, who has been blowing hot and cold in the domestic circuit, has also been included in the Indian Test squad as the selectors opted for a fresh change.
Indian Test Squad:
MS Dhoni (Capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Zaheer Khan.
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