Star batsman Rohit Sharma has been retained in the 15-member Test squad for the three-match home series against New Zealand.
All-rounder Stuart Binny, pacer Shardul Thakur were axed from the Test team. The series against New Zealand starts September 22 in Kanpur.
“We have stuck to the combination which has done very well. We were of the opinion that this was the best possible combination for New Zealand,” chief selector Sandeep Patil told reporters.
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Rohit’s form was expected to be a major talking point, given that in the series against West Indies, he mustered only 9 and 41 in the two innings he played.
Rohit also did not do well in the first innings of the ongoing Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida after being included in one of the teams — India Blue — following his return from the West Indies and the USA.
“Everyone, from selectors, coaches and the captain, felt that Rohit is a fabulous player and he needed a longer run,” Patil said, justifying the selection.
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Gambhir ignored
Senior opener Gautam Gambhir was ignored by the selectors despite four back-to-back half centuries in the ongoing Duleep Trophy.
The committee has persisted with Shikhar Dhawan, whose place in the side has also been in question.
“We want him [Dhawan] to come good, not only him, we want all 15 to perform. We have faith in all 15,” was Patil’s response when asked why Dhawan was retained.
“We are very happy with how K L Rahul has settled into the senior team. We have discussed not only Gautam but other seniors also. We have not forgotten the seniors, we discuss a lot of players... we have chosen only 15 players for this series but I am happy to say that we have a big pool of some 30 odd players,” Patil said.
Squad:
Virat Kohli (Capt.), K.L. Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, M. Vijay, Rohit Sharma, R. Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav