Karun Nair and Abhimanyu Easwaran have been left out of India’s team for the two-Test home series against the West Indies, which now includes Nitish Kumar Reddy and Devdutt Padikkal. Ajit Agarkar, the BCCI’s Chairman of Selectors, revealed the team during the Asia Cup in Dubai.
Shubman Gill will head the 15-man team, while seasoned pro Ravindra Jadeja will serve as his vice-captain.
Squad: Shubman Gill (c), Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), N. Jagadeesan (wk), Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
After suffering a fracture to his right foot against England in Manchester, Rishabh Pant, the vice captain during the England tour, is still recuperating. Regarding Pant, Agarkar stated, “We are hopeful that by the time South Africa comes around, he’s 100% fit.”
Both N Jagadeesan, who was brought on as cover, and Dhruv Jurel, who kept wickets for India during the Oval Test when Pant was out, have been included in the squad for the West Indies Tests. With a score of 140 against Australia A in the first unofficial Test, Jurel did nothing to hurt his chances. Opening batsman Jagadeesan scored 64. As a result, Easwaran lost his spot; according to Agarkar, spin all-rounder Axar Patel was selected to be the third opener in a home series.
During the England tour, Nair played four Test matches after being cut from the squad. Agarkar reiterated again that the selection panel “expected more” from Nair. With a single half-century in eight innings and a peak score of 57, the 33-year-old amassed 205 runs at an average of slightly over 25 in England. Furthermore, even on level ground, he frequently appeared exposed to pace.
According to Cricbuzz, Padikkal has been added to his spot. He recently struck 150 against the Australia A team that was on tour in Lucknow.
“Frankly, we expected a little bit more. I mean, he played four Tests,” Agarkar said of Nair. “As it is, I mean, we feel Padikkal offers a little bit more at this point. And I wish we could give everyone 15 or 20 tests. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Padikkal’s been in the Test squad…he was in the Test squad in Australia, played in Dharamshala against England, got a 50 there. So he’s shown some decent form with India. Yeah, frankly, we expected a bit more from Karun on the England trip.”
For the No. 3 position, India seems to be placing long-term trust in Sai Sudharsan. In that capacity, he started the England five-Test tour before giving way to Nair. Sudharsan appears to be likely to continue after regaining his spot for the fourth and fifth Test matches.
“There were a few changes to number three, because of the combination that we played,” Agarkar said. “We altered the combination by playing an extra all-rounder lower in the order. Then, in a few of the Tests, Reddy entered the scene. That just relies on what the coach and captain at that time desire and what balance they wish to achieve.
“But as far as going forward is concerned, I mean, Sai has shown a lot of promise. We know he’s a very good player, and hopefully we can give him a longish run from now on, at a particular number. And when people like Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma retire, those are big holes to fill here, always. I mean, not to forget, Ashwin retired a few months back, and Shami hasn’t now played for a while. Those guys have been, sort of, over the last 10 years, been key players for the team, so those things, but a lot of these younger guys have shown some really good signs in England, which was a really tough tour, even though we didn’t win it, but there were lots of positives, and hopefully going forward, we can give these guys time to actually build their careers.”
“Nitish showed a lot of promise, even the way he bowled at Lord’s and the way he batted under pressure in the second innings,” Agarkar said of Nitish, who was selected for his debut Test series at home. Additionally, his batting in Australia has demonstrated his potential. Additionally, he is still a young child honing his skills. So, you know, he will get better the more he plays. And it is clear that we have great expectations for him. You will have a lot of freedom in selecting your elevens and establishing team balance if he turns out to be the all-around player you’ve been searching for.
Jasprit Bumrah would be eligible for both Test matches against the West Indies, Agarkar further revealed. “He can play in both Test matches, yes. After England, we’ve got a fair break. He actually didn’t participate in the fifth test either. Thus, there has been a five-week pause. Additionally, until this past week, the competition was quite dispersed. He is therefore eager and prepared to participate in both Test matches.
In the current second unofficial Test match versus Australia A in Lucknow, towering hit-the-deck bowler Prasidh Krishna was substituted due to a concussion, but he still made the squad. He had a mixed tour of England, taking 14 wickets in three Tests, which were as many as Jasprit Bumrah but came at a much higher average of 37.07. He frequently used India’s short-ball tactic, giving up runs at a rate of 4.94 per over, but he made amends with an incredible eight-wicket haul in the fifth Test at The Oval that helped India level the series.
The less seam-friendly circumstances back home prevented Akash Deep from playing, as he missed the fourth Test in Manchester due to a groin ailment and didn’t seem his best in the fifth and final Test at Oval. Instead, he and Easwaran were selected for the Irani Trophy squad.
In less favorable circumstances at home, Arshdeep Singh, who was selected for his left-arm swing during the England tour but was not given a cap, has also been left off the roster. Instead, on October 3 and October 5, he will play for India A in the second and third one-day matches against Australia A at Kanpur.
In order to concentrate on his fitness, Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer asked to take a sabbatical from red-ball matches, hence he was not considered for selection. In the one-day match against Australia A, he will be captaining the India A team.
“Because of WTC, every Test match becomes very important. We had a terrible series against New Zealand, and it was a, maybe it was a wake-up call, it was a lesson,” Agarkar said. “We don’t want that repeated again. We’ve generally been, over the last long time, very strong at home. That was after a while that we’ve had a few bad results, and we want to try and put it right.
“All these four Test matches that we’ll play at home, two West Indies and two South Africa, become very critical. It’s a game, so anything’s possible, but you don’t want to try and let what happened against New Zealand happen again.”
India will be playing in the Asia Cup final on September 28. The first Test against West Indies starts in Ahmedabad on October 2.
