(REUTERS) – Batsman Suresh Raina and spinner Harbhajan Singh have been axed from India’s 15-man squad for the first Test against West Indies next month, the national cricket board said yesterday. The selectors made a slew of changes to the squad that was whitewashed 4-0 on the recent tour to England but Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh were named after recovering from injury.
India also dropped leg-break bowler Amit Mishra and selected the spin trio in Pragyan Ojha, Ravichandran Ashwin and Rahul Sharma, with Ashwin being the lone uncapped player at the Test level while Sharma has yet to represent India in any form of cricket.
The 31-year-old Harbhajan, who has taken over 400 Test wickets, struggled in England and claimed two wickets in the first two Tests before an abdominal strain cut short his tour.
He was also dropped from this month’s one-day squad for the 5-0 home victory over England, while in the pace bowling department, Praveen Kumar and Shantakumaran Sreesanth make way for uncapped pair Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron.
India will play three Tests against West Indies with the first match commencing in Delhi on November 6.

Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Rahul Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Varun Aaron.