Rahul Dravid was dropped from the 15-member Indian one-day squad for the first two matches of the upcoming home series against Pakistan.
Virender Sehwag, who had been on the sidelines for quite sometime, has been recalled into the team announced by the BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah after a meeting of the selection committee in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Uttar Pradesh paceman Praveen Kumar was the lone new face in the team which also sees the return of opener Gautam Gambhir in place of Subramaniam Badrinath.
Dravid, 34, averages less than 10 in his last 10 one-day matches and was dropped for the final one-dayer against Australia earlier this month.
"We wanted to give him a break for a while," chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said.
"He is a great player. He will be back very soon."
Vengsarkar also said the selection committee had consulted captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni over telephone before finalising the squad
"We have consulted Mahendra Singh Dhoni over phone," Vengsarkar said adding that "those who have not been picked definitely have a chance to make a comeback".
On Sehwag, Vengsarkar said he had performed well in the current Challenger series and in the past against Pakistan.
"Sehwag has played a fine innings today and he has also performed well in the past. He is an experienced player," Vengsarkar said referring to Sehwag's 57-ball 75 in the third match of the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy om Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The chairman of selectors said pacer Praveen Kumar, who picked a five-wicket haul on Friday, gave option to the team.
"Praveen has also done well for India A team and he gives the team options," he said.
Vengsarkar said "Badrinath's name was discussed" but he could pick only 15 fine players.
"Badrinath is a fine player but we could pick only 15 fine players. We have picked a winning team. There is a role for everyone who does well," he said.
The first two matches will be played at Guwahati on November 5 and at Mohali on November 8.
The BCCI also announced that Lalchand Rajput will continue as interim cricket manager for the ODI series against Pakistan.
Team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, R P Singh, Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, Praveen Kumar.
