Kolkata : India have announced 15 member squad for West Indies test.
The series will feature 2 tests starting from 2nd October. This will be the first test of Shubman Gill the test captain on home soil, and also first home test for Indian team after humiliating 3-0 loss against New Zealand.
Rishabh Pant’s absence is striking point. In Rishabh Pant’s absence for this series, Ravindra Jadeja has been named as the deputy to Shubman Gill by virtue of his vast experience. Pant, who was the vice-captain in England, is yet to recover from a foot injury that he suffered in the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. Dhruv Jurel and N. Jagadeesan are the two wicketkeepers in the 15-member contingent.
“Rishabh is the vice-captain at the moment and a key player. But unfortunately, he hasn’t quite recovered to make this particular series. We’re hopeful that he’ll be available for South Africa. And Jadeja has been one of your top performers. So, there’s a lot of experience. So, that’s essentially the reason,” explained Agarkar.
While Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel are the spin-bowling options at Gill’s disposal, the pace attack features Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. Although Bumrah’s workload management meant he was available for only three of the five Tests in England, Agarkar said that the pace spearhead is available for both Tests of this series.
“This squad is for both Tests. So, Bumrah is available for both games,” the former India fast bowler said.
Karun Nair, who made comeback to Indian team after 8 years for England tour failed to impress, managing only 205 runs in four Tests in England at an average of 25.62, as a result, is dropped. Karnataka’s Devdutt Padikkal, who has played two Tests so far, has earned a recall.
Although Karun did get a half-century in his last Test at The Oval, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that the panel expected more from the middle-order batter.
“Yeah, I mean obviously we expected more. 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,” Agarkar told the media on Thursday (September 25, 2025).
The series will be India’s second contest in the fresh World Test Championship cycle. They earlier managed to pull off a 2-2 draw against the Ben Stokes-led side in the tour of England.
The squad
Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, K.L. Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, N. Jagadeesan (WK), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav.
