The BCCI on Monday included veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel and paceman Jasprit Bumrah in the 17-member squad for the three-match Test tour of South Africa.
Announcing the squad, BCCI chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said this is the best balanced side for the tour.
"This is the best balanced side, I am sure this team will really do well," he told reporters after the selection committee meeting here.
"With regard to Bumrah if you see his performance for the past 10-12 months, he has been phenomenal. It's a unanimous choice and he definitely adds variety.
Commenting on chinaman Kuldeep Yadav's absence from the squad, Prasad said: "Definitely feel unfortunate for Kuldeep Yadav but selecting him over the World No 1 & 2 bowlers (Ravichandran Ashwin & Ravindra Jadeja) won't be fair."
The team will leave for South Africa on December 27.
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Test Squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Parthiv Patel, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.
-IANS
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