Robin Uthappa found his way into the India squad for the Bangladesh series, but it was his Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir who was the surprise pick for the five-match Test series in England as the selectors picked a rather large squad for the big tour.
The other interesting selection in the India squad for the England tour is the absence of Zaheer Khan, despite the selectors deciding to take six fast bowlers in the 18-man team.
Pankaj Singh is the new face in the Indian side for that massive tour as India look to take revenge from that absolute drubbing handed out to them last time around, as well as the big series loss suffered against Alastair Cook's men at home.
It will be interesting to see if Gambhir will be considered as the first-choice opener or as the backup to Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay. Dhawan has struggled a little of late, and the early tour games might play a role in the decision made by MS Dhoni and the team management.
There are not too many other surprises in the batting ranks, with Stuart Binny filling the all-rounder's slot along with Ravindra Jadeja, who is among the two spinners with R Ashwin.
The six fast bowlers that make up the squad are Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron and Pankaj Singh, with Zaheer's fitness worries probably working against him yet again.
For the Bangladesh tour, Suresh Raina, dropped for the Asia Cup recently, was named captain, with the likes of Uthappa, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Parvez Rasool and Akshar Patel, who has been quite impressive for the Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2014, all getting an opportunity to impress.
Wriddhiman Saha, the backup wicketkeeper for the England tour, will act as the main keeper for the Bangladesh series.
The likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Dhawan, Shami and Bhuvneshwar have all been rested for the short three-match ODI series against the neighbours, slated from 15-19 June.
Squads: England tour: MS Dhoni (capt), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Ishant Sharma, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh.
Bangladesh series: Suresh Raina (capt), Robin Uthappa, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Wriddhiman Saha, Parvez Rasool, Akshar Patel, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Stuart Binny, Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra.
