PTI
Mumbai, Sept 12: There were no major surprises in the Indian team which was announced here Monday for the upcoming home three-Test series against New Zealand. The first Test begins at Kanpur, September 22.
Both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan who have not been performing well with the bat have been retained in the squad. However, all-rounder Stuart Binny and fast bowler Shardul Thakur missed out as the strength of the team was pruned to 15 from the 17 selected for the recently-concluded West Indies tour.
Sandeep Patil, chairman of the selection committee, which had its last meeting Monday, said that both Rohit and Dhawan have been given a chance to rediscover their forms. They have been kept in the 15, but it will be up to the team management to decide whether the two will be in the final XI or not.
Rohit’s form was expected to be a major talking point Monday given that in the series against West Indies, he mustered only nine and 41 from two innings in the third Test at Gros Islet, the only time he got a chance to play in the series. He also did not do well in the first innings of the ongoing Duleep Trophy final.
“Rohit is a fabulous player, with immense talent. He hasn’t got a long run in Test cricket as he has been picked for one Test and then dropped. The selection committee, along with captain (Virat Kohli) and coach (Anil Kumble) said they would like to give ample opportunities to anyone who is picked,” Patil told reporters after the meeting.
The squad for New Zealand features three openers and asked who would be preferred among Murali Vijay, Dhawan and KL Rahul, the outgoing chairman stated that it was up to the team management to decide on the playing 11.
“The playing XI will be decided by captain and coach depending on the conditions. We want him (Dhawan) to come good, not only Shikhar but all the 15 we have selected,” Patil pointed out.
Senior opener Gautam Gambhir was notably ignored by the selectors despite four back-to-back half centuries in the ongoing Duleep Trophy. “It’s not that we didn’t discuss other names, including Gautam Gambhir and other seniors, but we stuck to the combination which did well abroad. We were all of the opinion that the best team should play,” stated Patil.
The squad: Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Ravi Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra and Umesh Yadav.
