India have named a 15-member squad for the two Tests against West Indies with Ravindra Jadeja getting named as the vice-captain and as expected, Karun Nair not being named in the lineup. Devdutt Padikkal has been named in the lineup.“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 chief selector Ajit Agarkar during the press conference in Dubai.“Frankly, we expected a bit more from Karun on the England trip there”Another absentee from the squad is Abhimanyu Easwaran, whose wait to represent India continues to get longer having been named in the squads for Australia and England but only warming the bench.“We don’t need a third opener at home,” said Agarkar on Abhimanyu’s absence from the lineup.Rishabh Pant has not yet recovered enough to be included in the squad. He served as vice-captain during the England tour. Taking his place as the second-in-command is Ravindra Jadeja.Dhruv Jurel and N. Jagadeesan are the two specialist wicketkeepers, with Jurel likely to be the first-choice option.The rest of the squad has a familiar look, and given the expectation that spin will play a larger role at home than pace, India have named Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Axar Patel as the three spin-bowling allrounders, alongside Kuldeep Yadav. Nitish Kumar Reddy is listed as the fast-bowling allrounder, with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna as the first-choice pacers. India Test squad vs West Indies: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, N Jagadeesan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep YadavThis series marks India’s first home campaign under new Test captain Shubman Gill, who previously steered the team to a 2-2 draw with England. It was India’s first series of the 2025-2027 World Test Championship cycle.The opening Test against the West Indies will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad starting October 2, with the second Test in New Delhi, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, beginning October 10.The West Indies squad was scheduled to arrive in Ahmedabad on September 24 and will undergo a training camp ahead of the first Test.This series represents the second assignment in the new ICC WTC cycle for the Roston Chase-led side, following their home series against Australia in June-July. Left-arm spinner Khary Pierre, who earned his maiden Test call-up, has been a notable inclusion.Pierre, 33, has been rewarded for consistent performances in the West Indies Championship, where he topped the wicket tally last season with 41 wickets at an average of 13.56. Tagenarine Chanderpaul, son of West Indian batting great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, is also part of the squad.With Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the selection committee, currently in the United Arab Emirates for the Asia Cup, the meeting to pick the squad was conducted online. This selection process was also the last for two committee members — S. Sharath and Subroto Banerjee.During the BCCI AGM on September 28, Sharath and Banerjee were replaced by Pragyan Ojha (South Zone) and R.P. Singh (Central Zone).
