New Delhi: A fit-again batsman Rohit Sharma expectedly returned to the side as national selectors offered no surprises in the 15-member Indian cricket squad for next month's Champions Trophy in England.
Rohit, after recovering from a thigh injury he sustained during the Test series against England last year, has replaced opener KL Rahul, who has been laid low by a shoulder injury.
Manish Pandey has been drafted in as an extra batsman in the 15-member squad, to be led by Virat Kohli. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be the wicket-keeper in the side.
Overall, the selectors kept faith in the squad which defeated England in a home series earlier this year.
India will play their Champions Trophy lung-opener against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 4. The event itself will get underway on June 1.
Pandey has made it as an extra batsman in the squad to be led by Virat Kohli. Prasad said the selectors seriously considered Kuldeep Yadav too before he was put on the standby list.
"We definitely considered the name of Kuldeep. He would have been a surprise package but whether we would have played with two spinners is a question. Since Yuvraj (Singh) and Kedar (Jadhav) can bowl spin, he narrowly missed out," Prasad explained after the selection committee meeting here.
Some of the other names that were discussed seriously were keeper-batsmen Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Shardul Thakur and Suresh Raina. Along with Kuldeep, these four are also on the standby list.
Prasad made it clear that even though IPL is a premier domestic tournament, the performance of players in the event can't be the sole criteria for selecting a squad for a 50-over tournament.
"We respect IPL but in the longer format, we have to also consider the English conditions that we are playing in. Not just IPL but one needs to take into account the performance of last one year also in such a big tournament," Prasad said.
With no surprises in the team, Prasad said it was an easy team to pick as it has shaped up well in the last four months.
"May be one place here and there. But this is the best side."
Veteran opener Gautam Gambhir, who has been performing well in the IPL, was not even discussed.
"As of now, we have picked Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma as openers and Ajinkya Rahane is the back-up opener," Prasad replied when asked about Gambhir.
Premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has skipped the IPL owing to a sports hernia injury, has been included in the squad.
Explaining the decision, Prasad said Ashwin's injury was not that serious and he merely required some rest.
"The injury was not serious. The franchise was magnanimous enough to listen to our request to rest him. Rest is what Ashwin required as the last game that India played, he was there. That shows he is fit and not like others who are getting rehabilitated after surgery," Prasad said.
When asked if Ashwin's form in limited overs cricket, which has been dodgy for some time, came up for discussion when Kuldeep's name cropped up:"Kuldeep's name was discussed because of his quality more than anything else."
Asked if Virat Kohli or Ravindra Jadeja needed some rest from the IPL, Prasad responded in the negative.
"Virat didn't play the last Test and also the first few matches in IPL. The more he plays, it is better for him. We have also given Jadeja a break. (But) considering how fit he is, it wasn't a problem," he said.
Squad:
Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey.
