BANGALORE, Dec 12: India recalled attacking opener Virender Sehwag to a 16-player squad on Wednesday for the four-Test series in Australia starting on Dec 26.

Sehwag, discarded for the last two-Test series against England and Pakistan due to poor batting form, was included after an injury to his fellow Delhi batsman Gautam Gambhir.

“Gambhir has a sore shoulder and it requires three weeks’ rest,” Indian board secretary Niranjan Shah told a news conference.

The selectors retained Irfan Pathan, recalled for the drawn final Test against Pakistan, and impressive teenager Ishant Sharma and called up uncapped Pankaj Singh while naming five specialist new ball bowlers.

Left-armer Rudra Pratap Singh also returned after missing the home series against Pakistan due to an abdomen injury, shoring up the pace department which has been hit by fitness woes.

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was ruled out with injury and Shah said Munaf Patel needs match practice before playing international cricket again.

Second wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik retained his spot despite struggling as a makeshift opener against Pakistan, after hitting a half-century in the final Test which ended in a draw on Wednesday, giving India a 1-0 series win.

India drew the Test series 1-1 on their previous tour to Australia in 2003-04.

India play four Tests in Melbourne (Dec 26-30), Sydney (Jan 2-6), Perth (Jan 16-20) and Adelaide (Jan 24-28). The series will be followed by a one-day tri-series also involving Sri Lanka.

Squad: Anil Kumble (captain), Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Vangipurappu Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pankaj Singh, Dinesh Karthik.—Reuters