Indian captain Virat Kohli returned to the 18-member squad for the first two Test matches against England after missing the last three Tests against Australia due to the birth of his first child.

Fast bowler Ishant Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya are also set for comebacks.

Opener Prithvi Shaw has been dropped after a disappointing showing in Australia but Mayank Agarwal retained his place in the side. However, the big relief for India was that Jasprit Bumrah and Ashwin Ravichandran, who missed the Brisbane Test with injuries, have been cleared to play against England.

The newly assembled selection committee led by former fast bowler Chetan Chauhan also called up left-arm spinner Axar Patel to strengthen the spin department.

The committee also named KS Bharat, Abhimanya Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Chahar as the four stand-byes who can come into the team in case of an injury.

India play England in a four-match series starting from February 5. The first two Tests will be played in Chennai, while the other two, which includes a day-night match will be played in Ahmedabad.

Full squad: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul (subject to fitness after first Test), Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel.

Standbyes: KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Abhimanya Easwaran, Shahbaz Nadeem, Rahul Chahar.

Net Bowlers: Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Warrier, K Gowtham, Saurabh Kumar