 Panesar could become the first Sikh to play for England |
England have called up Northants spinner Monty Panesar as the 16th man in their India tour squad with Ian Blackwell on standby for Ashley Giles. Panesar gained the nod over Blackwell and Alex Loudon after taking 46 Championship wickets at 21.54 in 2005.
And he then spent two months working on batting and fielding in Australia.
"He took the initiative in approaching the selectors before Christmas to discuss how he could improve his game," said chief selector David Graveney.
"We are delighted with the progress he has made following his recent trip to Adelaide."
 |  I've still got a lot of work ahead of me and my focus is to keep working at my game |
If selected in the Test XI, Panesar would become the first Sikh to play for England.
Both Blackwell and Loudon have been named in the England A squad to tour the West Indies.
Giles had an operation on his troublesome hip in December but has not recovered as quickly as had been hoped.
The selectors will consult medical staff on his recovery closer to the team's 12 February departure.
Test squad: Michael Vaughan (Capt), Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Geraint Jones, Simon Jones, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Liam Plunkett, Matthew Prior, Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick, Shaun Udal.
MMIX
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