Mumbai opener Wasim Jaffer has been called up for the Indian Test squad to tour West Indies in April and May. After hitting a century in each innings in a recent Duleep Trophy match, his inclusion was expected. Middle-order batsman Dinesh Mongia also won a recall after his excellent performances in the recent one-day international series against Zimbabwe. The selection committee, led by Chandu Borde, met this morning in Mumbai. They decided to include two wicketkeepers, Ajay Ratra and Deep Dasgupta. Ratra, who has yet to appear in a Test, is likely to be the first-choice keeper, with Dasgupta - whose keeping has been roundly criticised this season - being seen as a contender to open the batting.

Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble were the lone spinners selected. Borde said that pitches in the Caribbean were expected to be fast and bouncy, and his committee did not feel three spinners were required.

Four pace bowlers were picked - Javagal Srinath and Tinu Yohannan, and the left-armers Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan - with Sanjay Bangar as the lone allrounder. Asked about the exclusion of Ajit Agarkar, Borde said: "He was discussed, but we think he is more suited for one-day cricket."

VVS Laxman would have been relieved to find himself in the team, after murmurs that his recent inconsistency might have cost him his place. Borde said: "We picked him because of his ability to play pace bowling."

Mongia won't now be able to lead the Indian A team on their forthcoming tour of South Africa. Jacob Martin will take over as captain, with Mohammad Kaif promoted to vice-captain. Mongia's batting place will be filled by Yuvraj Singh.

India team for West Indies tour
SS Das, Deep Dasgupta (wk), Wasim Jaffer, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid (vice-capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Mongia, Sourav Ganguly(capt), Sanjay Bangar, Ajay Ratra (wk), Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Tinu Yohannan.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd