India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar recently unveiled the 15-member Test squad poised to take on West Indies in a two-match series. The announcement, made on Thursday, confirms Shubman Gill as the captain, with experienced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja stepping in as vice-captain.
The biggest talking point from the selection committee’s decision is the exclusion of middle-order batter Karun Nair. His recent form in England, where he managed only one half-century across four Test matches, led to his omission from the squad.
Addressing the media in Dubai, Agarkar explained the rationale behind Nair’s drop and the inclusion of new faces. “Frankly, we expected a little bit more from him. He’s played four Tests. That’s the way it is; we feel Devdutt Padikkal offers a little bit more at this point. I wish we could give everyone 15 or 20 Tests, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Padikkal has been in the Test squad before; he was in Australia, played in Dharamshala against England, and scored a fifty there. So he’s shown some decent form with India,” Agarkar stated, also confirming that newcomers Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal have received call-ups for the series.
The two-match Test series is set to kick off on October 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The second Test will then move to the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, scheduled for October 10.
India’s Squad for West Indies Test Series:
- Captain: Shubman Gill
- Vice-Captain: Ravindra Jadeja
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- KL Rahul
- Sai Sudharsan
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Dhruv Jurel
- Washington Sundar
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Axar Patel
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Mohammed Siraj
- Prasidh Krishna
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Narayan Jagadeeshan