After India opener, KL Rahul failed to deliver in the longest format of the game, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors decided to axe him from the 15-member squad for the upcoming home series against the Proteas.

Rahul struggled to get going in Tests as he only managed to get 664 runs in his last 30 Test innings and his only notable score was 149 against England at the Oval last year. This ended up in youngster Shubman Gill receiving his maiden Test call-up and selectors considering Rohit Sharma to open in the upcoming Test series.

While talking about why Rahul was not picked, chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said, “We definitely communicated to KL. He is an exceptional talent and unfortunately his form has dipped in red-ball cricket. With Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay gone, we can’t keep changing both the openers in the side.”

“Someone had to stick around. And probably with seniors, who exiting, KL got more opportunities. Unfortunately, he was not delivering consistently. He delivered in patches and that’s why we backed him because when he is on song, he is treat to watch,” he added.

MSK Prasad justifies move to pick Rohit Sharma as a Test opener

Prasad then went on to give the example of VVS Laxman, one of the greatest batsmen ever to have played for India, who was once dropped from the team and made a solid comeback by churning runs in domestic cricket.

“When VVS Laxman was once dropped from the Indian team, he went back to domestic cricket, scored 1400 runs in the Ranji Trophy and came back,” Prasad said.

India’s Test Squad: Virat Kohli (C), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK),Wriddhiman Saha (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill.

(With Hindustan Times inputs)