India's squad for the two Tests against West Indies at home has been announced
Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur have been dropped with Devdutt Padikkal and Axar Patel making a comeback
In absence of Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja has been appointed the deputy captain
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday announced India's 15-man squad for the upcoming Test series against West Indies at home. Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur have been dropped while Devdutt Padikkal and Axar Patel are back in the squad. Shubman Gill continues to lead the side but in absence of Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja has been appointed the deputy skipper.
India squad for Test series against West Indies
Shubman Gill (captain), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain), 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 Jagadeesan
Nair's India comeback after eight years did not go as he would have wished for and he has been axed. Nair could only muster 205 runs at 25.62 across four Tests in England. Shardul Thakur has also been removed from the squad after poor performance in England. Sai Sudharsan has been retained despite a lukewarm series in England.
Axar Patel has returned to the side owing to his exploits in home conditions while Padikkal has made a comeback after a strong showing for India A against Australia A. Sarfaraz Khan has not been able to make the cut due to an injury.
Abhimanyu Easwaran, who was with the team in England but did not get a game, has now been shown the exit door.
Jasprit Bumrah has been chosen to lead the pace attack with Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna there to assist him. Mohammed Shami continues to be sidelined.
There are four spinners in the side: Jadeja, Axar, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar. This is going to be the first home series for India after the retirement of R Ashwin who led the spin attack of the side for more than a decade.
Dhruv Jurel will be handling the wicket-keeping duties and N Jagadeesan who earned his maiden call-up as a replace of Pant during the England tour, has retained his spot as a back-up option.
The series against West Indies starts in Ahmedabad on October 2 before moving to Delhi for the second Test starting October 10. Both the Tests will be part of the World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. The series will be the first for India at home since their historic 0-3 whitewash by New Zealand.
