Rohit retained, Binny dropped for New Zealand Test series

Mumbai, Sep 12 (PTI) Star batsman Rohit Sharma wasretained despite his indifferent form but all-rounder StuartBinny was axed as the selectors announced a largely unchanged15-member Indian Test squad for the three-match home seriesagainst New Zealand, here today. Besides Binny, pacer Shardul Thakur was also overlookedfrom the squad which was truncated to 15 from the 17 that beatWest Indies 2-0 last month. The series against New Zealandstarts September 22 in Kanpur. "We have stuck to the combination which has done verywell. We were of the opinion that this was the best possiblecombination for New Zealand," chief selector Sandeep Patiltold reporters after chairing the final meeting of the currentselection committee. Rohit’s form was expected to be a major talking pointtoday given that in the series against West Indies, hemustered only 9 and 41 from two innings in the third Test atGros Islet, the only time he got a chance to play in theseries. Rohit also did not do well in the first innings of theongoing Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida after beingspecifically 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, feltthat Rohit is a fabulous player and he needed a longer run,"Patil said justifying the selection. Senior opener Gautam Gambhir was notably ignored by theselectors despite four back-to-back half centuries in theongoing Duleep Trophy. Instead, the committee persisted withShikhar Dhawan, whose place in the side has been questionedalong with Rohit. "We want him (Dhawan) to come good, not only him, we wantall 15 to perform. We have faith in all 15," was Patil’sresponse when asked why Dhawan was retained. "We are very happy with how K L Rahul has settled intothe senior team. We have discussed not only Gautam but otherseniors also. We have not forgotten the seniors, we discuss alot of players… we have chosen only 15 players for thisseries but I am happy to say that we have a big pool of some30 odd players," Patil said. The squad to be led by Virat Kohli has six specialistbatsmen with Wriddhiman Saha as the wicketkeeper. The openingslot would be taken by Dhawan and Murali Vijay, while themiddle order features Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, andCheteshwar Pujara along with Rohit. Ravindra Jadeja is the lone all-rounder in the squad. Inthe bowling department, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma willspearhead the pace attack, while Amit Mishra and R Ashwin heldon to the two slots for spinners. India Test squad: Virat Kohli (Capt), K L Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, AjinkyaRahane, M Vijay, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha,Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, BhuvneshwarKumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav. PTI SSR PMPM