Rahane leaves out Kohli and Bumrah from his all-time India Test XI, includes himself

Former India batter Ajinkya Rahane on October 25, 2026 named his all-time Indian Test XI during an interaction with Sony Sports Network, omitting Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah while selecting himself in the side. He placed Sachin Tendulkar at No. 4 ahead of Kohli and named a pace trio that did not include Bumrah.

Rahane made the selections after retiring from all forms of cricket in July 2026 and restricted his choices to players he had played alongside in international or domestic cricket. The exercise was conducted as part of an interaction with Sony Sports Network in which he was asked to name his all-time India Test XI drawn from teammates.

At the top of Rahane’s order he chose Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan as openers, followed by Rahul Dravid at No. 3 and Sachin Tendulkar at No. 4. Rahane slotted himself at No. 5 and selected MS Dhoni at No. 6 with Dhoni named as captain and wicketkeeper of the side.

Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were Rahane’s picks to supply spin and all-round options. For the pace attack he chose Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, leaving Jasprit Bumrah out of the XI; the three selected fast bowlers were noted in Rahane’s selection as members of India’s pace battery from the late 2010s.

Rahane emphasized personal connections in his choices, naming several former teammates from different stages of his career and selecting Dhoni, who was his first captain in international cricket, to lead the side. He placed himself in the middle order ahead of Dhoni, reflecting the batting positions he assigned in the XI.

Rahane last represented India in the 2023 two-Test series against the West Indies and was dropped from the Test side thereafter. His Test career concluded with 5,077 runs in 85 matches at an average of 38.46; he also scored 2,962 runs in 90 ODIs and 375 runs in 20 T20Is. Rahane captained India during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, where India won the final Test at Brisbane to clinch the series 2-1 after losing the opening match and being bowled out for 36 in Adelaide.

Ajinkya Rahane's All-time Indian Test XI: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (c, wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma