14 June 2004	Monday	25 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

BANGALORE, June 13: India captain Saurav Ganguly named Yuvraj Singh as Virender Sehwag's batting partner at the top of the order on Sunday, ending months of speculation about who would open in Test cricket.

Aakash Chopra and Sehwag, who scored an Indian record 309 against Pakistan at Multan in March, have been regularly opening for India since last year but Chopra has been criticised for failing to score quickly enough.

"Yuvraj has the ability to open the batting and he's a class act. A player of his ability and stature should not be kept out of the Test team," Ganguly told reporters on the first day of a week-long Indian fitness camp.

"There is a slot open for him as opener and I'm sure with his ability and mindset he'll get used to it. Looking at his performances and the number of one-day matches he has won for us, he's definitely our first choice for Test opener."

Yuvraj, 22, was regarded as a one-day specialist until he cracked a blistering 112 against Pakistan in the second Test at Lahore earlier this year. -Reuters