The Indian selection committee has announced a 15-member squad for the two-Test series against West Indies. A significant development is the appointment of Ravindra Jadeja as the vice-captain. As anticipated, Karun Nair was not included in the lineup, while young sensation Devdutt Padikkal has received a call-up.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the media in Dubai, explaining the decision regarding Nair. “Unfortunately, we can’t give everyone 15-20 Test matches. We had expected more from Karun in the England Test,” Agarkar stated.
The full India Test squad for the West Indies series includes: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain), Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, N Jagadeesan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Kuldeep Yadav.
This series marks Shubman Gill’s first home campaign as India’s new Test captain, following his successful leadership that led to a 2-2 draw with England. It also initiates India’s journey in the 2025-2027 World Test Championship cycle.
The opening Test match is scheduled to commence on October 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, followed by the second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, starting October 10.
The West Indies squad was slated to arrive in Ahmedabad on September 24 for a preparatory training camp ahead of the first Test. For the Roston Chase-led West Indies side, this series is their second assignment in the new ICC World Test Championship cycle, coming after their home series against Australia in June-July.
A notable inclusion for the West Indies is 33-year-old left-arm spinner Khary Pierre, who has earned his maiden Test call-up. Pierre’s consistent performances in the West Indies Championship, where he claimed 41 wickets at an impressive average of 13.56 last season, were key to his selection. Tagenarine Chanderpaul, son of former West Indian batting legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul, is also part of the touring squad.
The squad selection meeting was conducted online, as Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the selection committee, was in the United Arab Emirates for the Asia Cup. This also marked the final selection process for two committee members, S. Sharath and Subroto Banerjee. They were subsequently replaced by Pragyan Ojha (South Zone) and R.P. Singh (Central Zone) during the BCCI AGM on September 28.