JAIPUR (India), Nov 28: India named four uncapped players, including an untried pace attack and the controversial Virender Sehwag, in a 14-member squad Wednesday for the first Test against England starting Monday.

Sehwag was banned for one Test during the second South African game and has been declared ineligible by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the Test in Mohali.

Sehwag was banned for one match by referee Mike Denness for dissent in the second Test in South Africa. India refused to accept Denness as the match referee for the third Test which was then stripped of its official status by the ICC.

As Sehwag did not play in the match the Indian authorities said they considered he had now served his ban, but the ICC disagreed and has given the Indian cricket board until 0630GMT Friday to decide whether Sehwag will play.

The selectors have changed the entire pace attack who did duty in South Africa, picking all-rounder Sanjay Bangar, Iqbal Siddiqui and Tinu Yohannan. None of the trio has played international cricket.

Experienced pacemen Javagal Srinath (broken finger) and Venkatesh Prasad (stiff neck) are not fit while left-arm seamers Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan have been dropped, along with Ajit Agarkar after their poor performances in South Africa.

India lost the first Test to South Africa and drew the second before being beaten by an innings in the third unofficial game.

Opener Connor Williams, who played his first game for the country in the unofficial Test in Centurion, has been retained.

Sarandeep Singh, who played his only Test last year, has been drafted in as the second off-spinner alongside Harbhajan Singh. Leg-spinner Anil Kumble will be the third slow bowler.

Chief selector Chandu Borde told reporters the three untried pace bowlers had been rewarded for their consistency in domestic cricket.

“We have been watching these boys. They are performing well. We also looked at their performance in Hyderabad (against England) and here,” said Borde, a former Test all-rounder.

Bangar, who represents the railways in India’s national championship, took five for 32 in England’s drawn three-day game against an Indian Board President’s XI side last week.

Yohannan, 22, impressed with the ball on the second morning of England’s three-day tour game against India ‘A’ in Jaipur.

Borde said Ganguly was expected to recover in time for the Mohali Test after a neck strain forced him out of the unofficial Test in Centurion which ended Tuesday.

“It is a sort of stress he has got in the back. He can overcome that in no time. It is not a serious injury,” he said.

The selectors did not consult the captain and team coach in finalising the side this time, he said, without giving any reason.

The selection of Sehwag has fuelled a crisis that could lead to the series being cancelled.

Borde said he had not received any directions from BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya to pick or drop Sehwag.

“We went entirely by merit, and on merit, you can’t drop a batsman who scored a century on debut less than a fortnight ago,” Borde said.

If Sehwag is picked in the playing 11 for the Mohali Test, the ICC is certain to declare the match illegal which could force England to pull out of the series.

A defiant Dalmiya told reporters in Kolkata that India could not be pushed to name it’s team by the deadline set by the ICC.

“We will not be dictated to,” Dalmiya said.

“If we name our team three days in advance we might invite an investigation from the ICC’s anti-corruption unit.”

To cover their flanks in case Sehwag is not allowed to play, the selectors picked six other specialist batsmen in the squad.

With the seventh place going to wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta, the remaining four berths will be filled by bowlers.

“We will finalise the team after having a good look at the conditions in Mohali,” Borde said.

Squad: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Shiv Sunder Das, Connor Williams, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Sharandeep Singh, Sanjay Bangar, Iqbal Siddiqui, Tinu Yohannan.—Reuters/AFP