Sreesanth in India A squad to face England

S Sreesanth, the India fast bowler who has battled injuries and loss of form in the past year, was included in the India A squad that will take on England in the first of two warm-up matches ahead of England's five-match One-Day International series against India. Sreesanth returned to first-class cricket in December 2012, and has played three matches for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy, taking nine wickets.

The national selection committee announced a 14-man squad for the first warm-up match, with Abhinav Mukund named the captain. The match will take place on Sunday (January 6) at the Palam Cricket Ground in New Delhi.

Alongwith Mukund and Sreesanth, the squad includes M Vijay as the third member with international experience. Mukund was also the captain of the India A squad that travelled to New Zealand in September 2012.

Players from Punjab, Jharkhand, Mumbai, Baroda, Saurasthra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Services were out of contention for the squad due to the warm-up fixtures clashing with the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals that are scheduled from January 6-10.

The squad for the second match on Tuesday has not been announced yet. In a statement, Sanjay Jagdale, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said that the second warm-up match would be played at the Ferozeshah Kotla Ground and would be a 'day-night' encounter.

India A squad for first warm-up match: Abhinav Mukund (capt), M Vijay, Robin Bist, Kedar Jadhav, Ashok Menaria, Rohit Motwani (wk), Jalaj Saxena, Akshay Darekar, Ishwar Pandey, S Sreesanth, Rishi Dhawan, Paras Dogra, Mohit Sharma, Rasool Parvez.