Indian selectors stuck with 15 of the 17 cricketers that went to the West Indies, dropping only all-rounder Stuart Binny and uncapped pace bowler Shardul Thakur from the squad for the three-Test series against New Zealand starting September 22.
The BCCI's selection committee, joined by Test captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble, met in Mumbai on Monday and made their decisions. Success in the Caribbean was rewarded, not surprisingly, considering India's 2-0 win. India opener Shikhar Dhawan remains in the squad despite managing one half-century in his last 11 innings, though whether he opens in Kanpur is far from certain considering he was dropped for the fourth Test in the West Indies. Sandeep Patil, the chairman of selectors, also singled out a "fabulous player" in Rohit Sharma who the selectors wanted to give "a fair chance" to.
Runs and wickets in the ongoing Duleep Trophy which is being played with a pink ball under floodlights in Greater Noida, was overlooked. The India Blue pair of Sheldon Jackson (366 runs at 183, with two hundreds and a fifty) and skipper Gautam Gambhir (320 at 80, with four fifties), did not find a place. Uncapped chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav is the second-highest wicket-taker with 14 in three matches, with hauls of 3/32, 6/88, 4/78 and 1/214 with the pink ball on surfaces not supportive of turn during the tournament.
Similarly, there were no selections from the India A squad currently in Australia. In the one-day leg of that tour, India A won the quadrangular series title and lost the first of two unofficial Tests by three wickets on Sunday. Manish Pandey was the leading run-getter in the one-dayers with 359 (including two centuries) and top-scored with 77 from 76 balls in the first innings of the unofficial Test in Brisbane. Varun Aaron took five wickets in the same match, while Thakur - who flew from the West Indies to Australia - claimed four.
Cheteshwar Pujara's form in the Duleep Trophy - 166, 31 and 256 - should ensure that he walks out to bat at No 3 in the first Test in Kanpur. He was dropped for the third Test in the West Indies last month, with the team management drafting in Rohit, but returned for the final match in which India did not bat owing to rain and damp conditions that washed out the game.
The New Zealand series starts India's busiest home season ever, featuring 13 Tests, eight ODIs and two T20Is. The three Tests will be played in Kanpur, Kolkata (September 30) and Indore (October 8). New Zealand start their tour with a practice match versus Mumbai in Delhi between September 16-18.
India squad: Virat Kohli (capt), R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.
