Rohit, Dhawan retained as selectors keep faith in old hands

“The playing eleven 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,” he said. He also sounded pleased with the progress of Karnataka youngster Rahul. “We are happy with the way KL Rahul has fitted into the seniors team,” he said.

Senior opener Gautam Gambhir was notably ignored by the selectors despite four back-to-back half centuries in the ongoing Duleep Trophy. Instead, the committee persisted with Shikhar Dhawan, whose place in the side has been questioned along with Rohit. “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.”

“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.

The squad to be led by Virat Kohli has six specialist batsmen with Wriddhiman Saha as the wicketkeeper. The opening slot would be taken by Dhawan and Murali Vijay, while the middle order features Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, and Cheteshwar Pujara along with Rohit.

Ravindra Jadeja is the lone all-rounder in the squad. In the bowling department, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma will spearhead the pace attack, while Amit Mishra and R Ashwin held on to the two slots for spinners.

India Test 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  as well as Umesh Yadav.