Maiden call-ups for Rahul Sharma and Aravind; Harbhajan dropped

Bangalore: Harbhajan Singh has been dropped from India's squad for the first two one-day internationals against England on October 17. The offspinner, who missed the ODI series in England because of a stomach injury has been replaced by legspinner Rahul Sharma, who has earned his first call-up to the Indian team. There is also a maiden international call-up for Karnataka medium-pacer S Aravind.

Sharma and Aravind have been rewarded for their strong performances for their IPLfranchises - Pune Warriors India and Royal Challengers Bangalore - respectively.

Harbhajan took only two wickets in England before being ruled out of the rest of the tour during the second Test because of an abdominal strain. And, though Harbhajan is leading Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 and had declared himself fit, the selectors chose to persist with off-spinner R Ashwin.

The 15-member squad is without Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag,Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma who all sustained injuries in England; but Gautam Gambhir is back after having recovered from a concussion he suffered because of a nasty fall during the fourth Test at The Oval.

Tearaway fast bowler Varun Aaron, who warmed the benches during the ODI series in England has retained his place in the squad, and will be expected to make his debut in the home series. Ajinkya Rahane, who impressed in the five-match ODI series inEngland, scoring 158 runs at an average of 31.60 has kept his place along with Manoj Tiwary, who was also a late replacement for that series. Pacer Umesh Yadav also makes a comeback to the Indian squad for the first time since the Test series in South Africa earlier this year.

Chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth told reporters in Chennai the injuries to senior players has provided an opportunity for youngsters to test themselves. "We are confident we will do well in home conditions," Srikkanth was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters. "It is a very good combination and we did not compromise on quality. We thoroughly scrutinised the players' fitness and I'm sure they will deliver."