As Virat Kohli declared India's team for the opening Test against South Africa in Cape Town on Friday, there were a few unsettled decisions – Shikhar Dhawan being favored over KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma over Ajinkya Rahane. While the whole Indian batting order, barring Hardik Pandya, failed to impress in Newlands, questions have been raised over Dhawan and Rohit's place in the team considering two batsmen – Rahul and Rahane – who have better stats and technique to counter South African pitches are warming the bench.

When asked about Rahane's exclusion in favor of Rohit, Kohli told that the decision was taken considering current form and not statistical or technical efficiency. "Well, we decided to go on current form. Rohit has scored runs in the last three Test matches that he has played, and he was batting well, even in the series against Sri Lanka," said Kohli in the post-match media conference. With 209 runs, Rahane was third highest run-getter in the 2013 tour, behind Kohli (272 runs) and Cheteshwar Pujara (280). While he can be expected to feature in the Indian playing XI in the second Test, Kohli's comments suggest that Dhawan might once again get the nod considering India want to stick with the left-hand – right-hand combination.

When it came to supporting Dhawan's preference over Rahul, Kohli told that the pairing was formed considering the left-right combination. The third Test between Indi and South Africa is scheduled to be played at the Centurion starting Saturday, January 13.