'We think from the future point of view. We have to look at building the side from the perspective of the future.'
The quintet of selectors have opted for a young side that includes five fresh faces - spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Rahul Sharma, pacers Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron and opener Ajinkya Rahane.
Srikkanth said Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Ishant Sharma were chosen only after the selectors were convinced they were fully fit.
'Everybody is 100 per cent fit, I can assure you that fitness will not be a concern,' he said.
He said the selection was preceded by a healthy discussion between the selectors, skipper M.S. Dhoni, coach Duncan Fletcher and Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Sanjay Jagdale.
He refused to go into the reasons for omitting veteran off spinner Harbhajan Singh.
Assuring the mediapersons that good days lie ahead for Indian cricket, Srikkanth said there was now healthy competition among the prospects which would serve the game well in the country.
Batsman Suresh Raina and spinner Harbhajan were axed from India's 15-man squad for the first Test against West Indies.
The selectors made a slew of changes to the squad that was whitewashed 4-0 on the recent tour to England but Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh were named after recovering from injury.
India also dropped leg-break bowler Amit Mishra and selected spin trio Pragyan Ojha, R Ashwin and Rahul Sharma.
Ashwin is uncapped at Test level while Sharma has yet to represent India in any form of cricket.
The 31-year-old Harbhajan, who has taken more than 400 Test wickets, struggled in England and claimed two wickets in the first two Tests before an abdominal strain cut short his tour.
He was also dropped from this month's one-day squad for the 5-0 home victory over England.
In the pace bowling department, Praveen Kumar and Shantakumaran Sreesanth make way for uncapped pair Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron.
India will play three Tests against West Indies. The first match in Delhi starts on 6 November.
<B>Squad<P>: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Rahul Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Varun Aaron.
