The India A call was a certain one after Yuvraj hit 208 for the North Zone in the four-day Duleep Trophy match against Central Zone.
The India Test team is currently undergoing a phase of change with the back-to-back retirement of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. While Cheteshwar Pujara is quite certain for the No.3 slot, the No. 6 and 7 slots are up for a grab among quite a few contenders.
If Yuvraj comes up with a good-show against the English side, this could be his best bet to script a comeback in Tests -- a format where he struggled to gain a permanent foothold.
There are quite a few surprises in the team that reflects the India team's strategy for the series.
The team doesn't have any spinner as performers in the domestic circuit have found a place. Expectedly, Ashok Dinda and Parvinder Awana are in the team.
But Rohit Sharma has been left out, giving the Mumbai-lad a clear message that henceforth he needs to convert the chances that he has got.
Top Ranji scorers like Robin Bist and Ashok Menaria are in the squad. Wriddhiman Saha will man the wicket.
Having no spinner could be because the team think-tank doesn't want to expose the visitors to their main weapon before the real deal.
The team was supposed to have Delhi batsman Shikhar Dhawan too, but had to be left out on account of his marriage which clashes with the match date. He was replaced by Ambati Rayadu.
Suresh Raina (capt), Ambati Rayadu, M Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Bist, Ashok Menaria, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda, Vinay Kumar, Parvinder Awana