Yuvraj, Harbhajan recalled to team for England Tests

Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh made comebacks to the Indian Test team for the first two matches against England next week.

- PHOTOS: Zaheer undergoes fitness test at Wankhede

Murali Vijay was also recalled in place of Suresh Raina, who failed to shine with the bat in the series against New Zealand.

Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag, who picked minor injuries during the opening Ranji Trophy matches, were included in the 15-member squad, named on Monday.

Zaheer walked off the field with cramps on Day 3 of Mumbai's Ranji match against Railways, but was cleared after a fitness test.

The first Test against England is in Ahmedabad, from November 15-19.

Zaheer's fitness was assessed at the Wankhede stadium during the lunch break of the Ranji Trophy match. National Cricket Academy physio Ashish Kaushik and Mumbai Cricket Association physio Niranjan Pandit supervised the test.

The veteran pacer bowled for nearly 30 minutes on the practice pitch adjoining the match pitch after doing some stretching exercises on the sidelines. He did not show any signs of discomfort or any pain during the fitness test, which was conducted as the selection meeting began at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.

Sehwag had injured his finger while fielding in the slips against Uttar Pradesh and batted at No. 6 in Delhi's second innings. But he blasted a timely century batting lower down the order to convince the selectors of his form and fitness.

Subramaniam Badrinath, who was called up in place of VVS Laxman in the two-Test series against New Zealand, was dropped. He made for Yuvraj, who will bat at No. 6.

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, who is nursing a finger injury and missed Uttar Pradesh's first Ranji Trophy match against Delhi, was replaced by Harbhajan.

The team:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay.

Photograph: Stringer/Reuters