Ashwin in ODI squad

Tamil Nadu's R. Ashwin was named in India’s 15-member ODI squad for the first two one dayers against South Africa. File Photo: R. Ragu

Yusuf Pathan and Praveen Kumar have been recalled to the Indian ODI squad for the series against South Africa, while R. Ashwin has received his maiden call-up. The selectors met here on Tuesday evening to select a 15-man squad for the first two games of the three-match series.

Gautam Gambhir has been ruled out of the series because of a groin injury. Yuvraj Singh has not recovered from the wrist injury he sustained in Bangladesh, and will miss the series. Sachin Tendulkar returns after opting out of the tri-series in Bangladesh.

Tamil Nadu off-spinner Ashwin was chosen after Harbhajan Singh asked for time off to attend his sister’s wedding.

The squad: M.S. Dhoni (capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Sudeep Tyagi, Praveen Kumar, Abhishek Nayar, Yusuf Pathan and Amit Mishra.