Munaf Patel in ODI team

Sachin Tendulkar was on Tuesday not included in the Indian squad for the first three one-day internationals against England after being ruled due to shoulder injury on Tuesday.

Venugopal Rao, who scored a fine 98 in a three-day tour game against England at Vadodara, makes a comeback in the Indian team. The 24-year-old Andhra batsman last played against Sri Lanka in July 2005.

Munaf Patel was rewarded for his excellent performance in the on-going Test series with a berth in the ODI team. Chairman of the selection committee Kiran More said they would be looking to rotate the seamers in the seven match one-day series, beginning in New Delhi on March 28.

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, Rudra Pratap Singh were retained along with Mumbai pacer Ajit Agarkar.

Munaf returned with an impressive haul of 10 wickets at 21.70 in the two Tests he played in the series. Sreesanth was equally productive, claiming nine wickets at 25.66.

Also Read Injured Tendulkar out of ODI team

When asked as to why Zaheer Khan failed to make it to the side, he replied: "Zaheer's performance was not upto the mark in Pakistan. Just have a look at the statistics and you will know."

The absence of Tendulkar means that Gautam Gambhir will open the innings with Virender Sehwag.

Despite a fine all-round performance in the current Test series, Anil Kumble was not included in the one-day team. Mumbai offie Ramesh Powar and Harbhajan Singh are the two spinners in the squad.

Indian squad: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, Venugopal Rao, Irfan Pathan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Rudra Pratap Singh and Ajit Agarkar.