India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the 15-member Test squad for the upcoming two-match series against West Indies, with Shubman Gill appointed as captain and Ravindra Jadeja as vice-captain. The announcement, made on Thursday, revealed the exclusion of batter Karun Nair, while newcomers Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal received call-ups for the series scheduled to begin on October 2 in Ahmedabad.The selection committee’s decision to drop Karun Nair came after his recent performance in England, where he managed only one half-century in four Test matches.“Frankly, we expected a little bit more. I mean, he’s played four Tests. That’s the way it is, I mean, we feel (Devdutt) 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. I mean, 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,” said Agarkar in the press conference to announce the squad in Dubai.“Frankly, we expected a bit more from Karun on the England trip there,” he added.The series comprises two Test matches, with the first match scheduled at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 2, followed by the second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on October 10.India squad for West Indies series: 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 Jagadeeshan
