India’s selectors, headed by Ajit Agarkar, have named a full-strength 15-member squad for the upcoming two-Test series against West Indies, beginning October 2 in Ahmedabad. The announcement carried no major shocks, with the panel sticking to a largely familiar core while handing recalls to Nitish Reddy and Devdutt Padikkal. Axar Patel also returned to the fore, as he also an automatic choice in the home series.
Gill’s first home Test assignment
The side will be led by Shubman Gill, with Ravindra Jadeja serving as deputy after his prolific run in England earlier this year. The absence of Rishabh Pant, who continues rehabilitation following a foot fracture at Old Trafford, means Dhruv Jurel remains first-choice wicketkeeper, supported by N. Jagadeesan.
Considering the series is at home, India have picked just three frontline quicks, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna, while the spin unit of Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Kuldeep Yadav looks threatening. Padikkal earned his recall after a superb 150 for India A against Australia A, while Nitish returns to as a proper seam-bowling all-rounder.
The notable absentees are Karun Nair and Abhimanyu Easwaran. Both had been part of the England tour, but Nair’s inconsistency (205 runs at 25.62 in four Tests) and Easwaran’s lack of opportunities have cost them a spot. Meanwhile, Easwaran is part of the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup. The squad is led by Rajat Patidar, who was also part of discussions for a middle-order spot.
A wake-up call from New Zealand still lingers
If there was any temptation to experiment, India’s home defeat to New Zealand last year extinguished it. That shock 0-3 cleansweep loss, their first Test series defeat at home in 12 years, still lingers in the minds of fans and also the selectors. New Zealand completely outplayed India in India, a sight that was never seen before. It was ultimately the start of the end of the Test careers of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin, who all retired in a span of 146 days.
“Because of the WTC every series becomes important,” Agarkar said. “The New Zealand home series was a wake-up call. All series are critical, we want to get as many points as possible, particularly at home. We don’t want what happened against New Zealand to be repeated.”
The ambition is clear this time with the World Test Championship (WTC) table in play, India can ill afford slip-ups. By putting a full-strength squad, the BCCI is betting on stability to ensure there’s no repeat of the New Zealand debacle.
India’s Test squad for West Indies series
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
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