Virat Kohli defends Ravindra Jadeja, G Hanuma Vihari inclusion

G Hanuma Vihari en route his 93 against West Indies in the second innings on Sunday. Pic /AFP

North Sound (Antigua): Captain Virat Kohli is well aware that India's playing XIs in Test matches are a subject of intense debate but insists that all decisions are taken keeping in mind the "best interests of the team".

There was a debate on the omission of senior off-spinner R Ashwin. The legendary Sunil Gavaskar termed his exclusion as "astonishing".

But the lone specialist spinner Ravindra Jadeja did his bit, scoring a timely half-century in the first innings along with a couple of wickets vindicating Kohli's decision.

"We have a group discussion and then we decide what's best for the team. There will always be opinions about the XI, but people will know that it's in the interest of the team," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Kohli's preference for the young Hanuma Vihari over Rohit Sharma also worked wonderfully with the Andhra Pradesh player scoring 93 in the second innings.
"Vihari got a nod because combination is important. He's an effective part-time bowler and helps us when we need to catch up with the over-rate."

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever