Ganguly sacked; Chawla picked

Controversial former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly has been dropped from his country’s Test squad, which faces England in the first of three Tests on March 1.

His exclusion once again breathes life into speculation that his international career may be over as India looks to promise for the future now that Ganguly’s reign as captain has ended. Chairman of selectors, Kiran More stated that the plan is to “bring in youth”.

Such a plan is certainly well on course, as Piyush Chawla – the 17-year-old legspinner – has been included in the squad to play England. The young man, who plays Uttar Pradesh, was a sensation at the recently completed Under-19 World Cup, which India lost in the final of. He took 13 wickets at 12.15 and bowled impressively enough to find footing in the 15-man squad.

Other notable inclusions are seamers Sreesanth and VRV Singh. The former has impressed in recent One Day Internationals, whilst Singh is touted as one of the fastest bowlers in the country. To the surprise of some, he has been included ahead of fellow express pacer, Munaf Patel. Patel took 5 for 59 against the English tourists in the ongoing tour match. In the same innings, VRV Singh bowled 9 wicketless overs for 63 runs.

Wasim Jaffer is retained in the squad ahead of Gautam Gambhir, his fellow opener. Jaffer has scored heavily in Indian domestic cricket over recent seasons and suggestions are that he may open the batting with Virender Sehwag in the first Test match.

Yuvraj Singh is unavailable due to a hamstring injury sustained during his matchwinning ton in the fifth ODI against Pakistan.

India 15-man First Test squad:
Rahul Dravid (capt), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh, VRV Singh