India have dropped veteran opening batsman Virender Sehwag for the first three of five ODIs against England, and have called up Test sensation Cheteshwar Pujara for the first time.

Pujara scored a double century in a Ranji Trophy match recently, adding to his growing stature after being one of the few Indian batsmen to put on a good show against England in the Test series at the end of last year.

Sehwag did not play in the final ODI against Pakistan on Sunday, which India won in thrilling circumstances by 10 runs even though they had only made 167 all out themselves. Pujara's inclusion will be a boost for the fans who hope to see a more reliable top order.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma kept his place despite a string of single figure scores, though he can thank his lucky stars that Manoj Tiwary was not fit to be selected.

The first ODI against England will be played in Rajkot on 11 January. The visitors got their limited overs tour off to a poor start when they lost to India A in Delhi on Sunday.

India squad: MS Dhoni (capt), Cheteshwar Pujara, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami Ahmed, Amit Mishra