Pietersen left out of India tour

Kevin Pietersen has been left out of England's Test squad for the tour of India while Joe Root and Nick Compton have been called up. Eoin Morgan has also been recalled and Monty Panesar is one of three spinners alongside Graeme Swann and Samit Patel.

Talks between Pietersen and the ECB remain ongoing although the batsman is currently in Sri Lanka working as a TV pundit during the World Twenty20. Last week Pietersen was not handed a central contract, a clear indication that problems still exists although he can be offered one at any time in the future.

Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, said: "Both ECB and England team management have had meetings with Kevin Pietersen to address the issues that led to his omission from the final Investec Test match against South Africa. These discussions remain private and confidential and, as there are issues still to be resolved, Kevin has not been considered for selection for the India tour."

In the absence of Pietersen and the retired Andrew Strauss, England's batting order is inexperienced. That is likely to have been one of the reasons for Morgan's recall despite very little success in first-class cricket since he was dropped from the Test side following the series against Pakistan in the UAE.

Compton and Root could well be vying for one place in the line-up, depending on how Andy Flower and Alastair Cook decide to balance the team. Compton was the leading run-scorer during the 2012 English season with 1494 runs and was within touching distance of making 1000 runs before the end of May.

Root, 21, who was named the Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer on Monday, had been tipped for a place on the tour squad having been a regular in the England Lions set-up over the last 12 months, where he has impressed batting coach Graham Thorpe. He scored 964 first-class runs in the season with a best of 222 against Hampshire.

"Nick Compton has performed well consistently for Somerset in county cricket this season, made big hundreds and shown that he has the temperament and the technique to play at a higher level," Geoff Miller, the national selector, said. "Joe Root is a player who has been successful at every level from county cricket through to EPP and England Lions, and he deserves this opportunity to step up to the next level and press his case for a place in the Test side. "

The two notable omissions in the batting department are Ravi Bopara and James Taylor, who both played Tests during the recent series against South Africa. Bopara withdrew from the second Test at Headingley due to personal problems, which handed Taylor his debut. He returned for the one-day matches against South Africa but has suffered a horror run of form and is unlikely to make the starting XI in the World Twenty20. He does not even feature in the Performance squad that will be based in India at the same time as the Test party.

Taylor, though, does have the compensation of a spot with the Performance players who will be the first in line for a call-up should injury or illness strike.

The bowling line-up is largely as expected, with Panesar again preferred as the support, or back-up, to Swann despite a difficult time in Sri Lanka earlier this year. James Tredwell, the Kent offspinner, was another option after solid performances in recent one-day matches. Patel, who made his Test debut in Sri Lanka, provides an option to balance the side at No. 7.

The first Test against India starts in Ahmedabad on November 15.

Squad Alastair Cook (capt) James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Nick Compton, Steven Finn, Graham Onions, Eoin Morgan, Monty Panesar, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott