Ganguly not picked for first Test

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly failed to find a place in the Indian team for the first Test against England, commencing in Nagpur on March 1.

The 33-year-old Ganguly, who was sacked as captain last year, played in the just-concluded Test series against Pakistan, which India lost 0-1, but could score only  37 and 34 respectively in  the two innings he batted in the third Test, which India lost by 341 runs.

Pacemen Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan were dropped and uncapped seamers Vikram Rajvir Singh and S Sreesanth, 17-year-old leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, who had a fine outing in the under-19 World Cup, and one-day batsman Suresh Raina drafted in the 15-member Rahul Dravid-led squad.

The team: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Wasim Jaffer, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, R P Singh, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, VRV Singh, Piyush Chawla.