PTI

Chennai, Dec 4: Dashing middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh was on Thursday recalled while left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha was also named in India's 15-member Test squad for the two-match series against England beginning next week.

Yuvraj, who had been in sizzling form in the recent ODI series against England, forced his way back into Test reckoning following Sourav Ganguly's retirement from international cricket.

Hyderabad spinner Ojha has been rewarded with a berth in the Test team, filling up the spot left vacant by former Test captain Anil Kumble who has also bid farewell to the game. Pacer RP Singh has been dropped.

Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay, who made his debut against Australia in the last Test in Nagpur, has been retained in the squad which has eight specialist batsmen, three pacers, three spinners and one wicket-keeper batsman in captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Another Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath has also been named in the squad which otherwise has no surprise inclusions.

England are scheduled to play the first Test in Chennai from December 11-15 and the second Test in Mohali from December 19-23 after the itinerary was revised following the terror attacks in Mumbai.

The Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Amit Mishra, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, S Badrinath, Munaf Patel, Murali Vijay, Pragyan Ojha.