No Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma in Rahane’s historic Test India XI; picks Dravid, Tendulkar and Dhoni

Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane wait to bat on Day 3 of the ICC WTC final between India and New Zealand at The Hampshire Bowl on June 20, 2021 in Southampton, England. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were missing from former batsman Ajinkya Rahane’s India Test XI, which features only players he has played with in international or domestic cricket.Rahane, 38, named MS Dhoni as captain and wicketkeeper, explaining that the former India skipper was his first captain in international cricket. He chose Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan as openers, followed by Rahul Dravid at No.3 and Sachin Tendulkar at No.4.Rahane chose to bat at No. 5 and Dhoni batted at No. 6. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were his all-rounder and spin-bowling options, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma provided the pace attack. The three fast bowlers were part of the Indian team that ushered in a pace-oriented era in 2018 and helped secure some memorable wins overseas.Kohli and Rohit, two of India’s leading batsmen in recent years, did not make the cut.Rahane retired from all forms of cricket in July this year. The right-handed batsman announced his decision through an emotional video on social media.He was dropped from the Indian Test team after the two-match away series against the West Indies in 2023. Rahane scored eight runs in his last innings in international cricket.He ended his Test career with 5,077 runs from 85 matches at an average of 38.46. He also played 90 ODIs and 20 T20Is and scored 2,962 and 375 runs respectively.Rahane’s All-Time Test XI Teammates in India: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (C and WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma.