India on Wednesday selected Harbhajan Singh for a one-off Test in Bangladesh next month, ending the veteran off-spinner’s two-year absence from the international game.
The 34-year-old, whose 413 wickets in 101 Tests make him the most successful current spinner in the game, last played for India in the Hyderabad Test against Australia in March 2013.
“With several left-handers in the Bangladesh team, we decided to go in with two off-spinners in Harbhajan and (Ravichandran) Ashwin in the Test squad,” chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil told reporters in Mumbai.
The selectors named full-strength Test and one-day squads for the short tour, despite media speculation that senior players may be rested after being on the road since October.
Injured seamer Mohammed Shami was the lone omission as the selectors picked the same one-day squad which reached the World Cup semi-finals under Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy earlier this year.
Virat Kohli, who took over the Test captaincy after Dhoni retired from the longer format during the Australian tour, was reappointed captain for the lone Test match in Fatullah from June 10-14.
The Test will be followed by three one-day internationals in Dhaka on June 18, 21 and 24.
Test squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma.
ODI squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Stuart Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni.
