There were no surprises as India announced a 15-man squad for the upcoming three-Test series against New Zealand. India retained 15 of the 17 players who were in the Test squad for the four-match series against West Indies, with Stuart Binny and Shardul Thakur being dropped.
"We have stuck to the combination which has done very well," chief selector Sandeep Patil told reporters. "We were of the opinion that this was the best possible combination for New Zealand."
Patil also defended the selection of Rohit Sharma, who scored only 50 runs across two innings in the only Test he played against the West Indies. Sharma also threw his wicket away in the Duleep Trophy final on Sunday after getting a good start.
"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 will give ample opportunities to anyone who is picked," Patil said.
Patil also defended the selectors' decision to overlook Gautam Gambhir, who has scored four back-to-back half-centuries in the 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."
The New Zealand series will be new coach Anil Kumble’s first home assignment and kick starts a long home season for India, one in which the team will play 13 Test matches.
Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, M Vijay, Umesh Yadav.