Robin Uthappa picks his all-time India Test XI with KL Rahul over Gautam Gambhir

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Robin Uthappa has named his all-time India Test XI in a video posted on his Instagram account ahead of India’s two-match away Test series against Sri Lanka. The selection drew attention for several notable choices and equally notable omissions across the batting and bowling departments.

Former Chennai Super Kings batter shared it in an Instagram post, with the first Test of the Sri Lanka series scheduled to begin on August 15 at Galle International Stadium.

Virender Sehwag was named as one opener, with KL Rahul selected as his partner at the top of the order. The choice of Rahul meant that both Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Gavaskar were left out of the opening slots. Rahul is currently serving as India’s vice-captain.

Rahul Dravid was placed at number three, which ruled out Cheteshwar Pujara from the middle order. Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli were placed in the middle order at numbers four and five respectively. MS Dhoni was named as the wicketkeeper, a decision that excluded Rishabh Pant from the eleven.

World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev was placed at number seven as the seam-bowling all-rounder. The bowling attack was completed by Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble. Ashwin was preferred over Harbhajan Singh in the spin department, while Bumrah was chosen ahead of Mohammed Shami among the pace options.

Notable omissions from Uthappa’s eleven

Among the more prominent omissions, Ganguly did not find a place anywhere in the eleven, joining Gavaskar as a high-profile name left out entirely. This is not the first time the wicketkeeper-batter has shared such a selection. Around July 2026, he revealed an all-time India ODI XI on the same platform, in which former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma was left out, showing a pattern of bold omissions in his all-time picks.

Robin Uthappa’s all-time India Test XI:

Virender Sehwag, KL Rahul, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (wk), Kapil Dev, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble.