Agency report
 
London, Jan 28: Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar on Friday became the first Sikh to earn a call-up to the England cricket squad for the tour of India starting next month.

Twentythree-year-old Panesar, whose parents hail from Punjab, has represented England at under-1 level and plays for county side Northamptonshire, for whom he took 46 wickets at an average of 21.54 last season.

Panesar was included as the extra spinner in a 16-member squad announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board. "Monty has done very well for Northamptonshire over a period of time and I am sure he will be really excited at the prospect of touring India," Chairman of Selectors David Graveney said.

A jubilant Panesar said he was delighted with the call-up and wanted to give his best for his country. "I'm absolutely delighted to get this opportunity," Panesar told reporters at Lords.

"But I know there is a lot of hard work ahead of me," he added while playing down the significance of his background. "I'm proud to be the first Sikh to play for England but my focus is very much on cricket."

England plays two practice matches before the first of three Tests starting in Nagpur on March 1. The seven-match one-day series begins on March 28 in Delhi.

Test Squad: Michael Vaughan, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Geraint Jones (wkt), Simon Jones, Kevin Pietersen, Monty Panesar, Liam Plunkett, Matthew Prior, Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick and Shaun Udal.