Regular captain Rahul Dravid and senior pros Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Venkatsai Laxman and Zaheer Khan did not feature in the 15-man squad announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday.

Aggressive opener Virender Sehwag, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and all-rounder Irfan Pathan make a comeback after being dropped for the ongoing tour of England.

His elder brother, 24-year-old Yusuf, who is set to make his international debut as a hard-hitting batsman and off-spinner, will join Pathan in the squad.

Dhoni, 26, who is India's one-day vice-captain, was the preferred choice to lead after Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Zaheer opted out of the tournament and Laxman was not considered.

India, reluctant to embrace a new format that has proved popular with audiences worldwide, have played just one Twenty20 international so far, against South Africa in Johannesburg last December.

The Indians won that game by a flattering six-wicket margin, chasing down South Africa's 126-9 with one delivery to spare.

The 12-nation Twenty20 world championships will be played in three South African cities, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, from September 11-24.

India are drawn with Pakistan and Scotland in group D of the preliminary league, with the top two advancing to the Super Eights round.

The tournament features the nine nations currently playing Test cricket along with Zimbabwe, Kenya and Scotland.