India coach Ravi Shastri on Monday defended the team management's decision to leave out Ajinkya Rahane from the first two Tests in South Africa, saying Rohit Sharma was the best option going by form. "If Ajinkya (Rahane) had played the first Test and not done well, you would have asked me the same question about why Rohit hasn't played. The India coach said on overseas tours, a team is forced to select their playing XI keeping conditions in mind. Also read Harbhajan Singh defends Virat Kohli over Ajinkya Rahane's exclusion in South Africa Test seriesShastri's dig at experts came following former India opener Virender Sehwag's criticism of skipper Virat Kohli's selection policy. And Sehwag did not mince words when he stated that Kohli "should drop himself" if he fails in the second Test against South Africa.

Source: dna January 22, 2018 13:30 UTC