Alick Athanaze and Tagenarine Chanderpaul were called up to the West Indies’ 15-man squad for the two-Test series in India next month, but former captain Kraigg Brathwaite was omitted on Tuesday.
The West Indies’ first away game of the current World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle will take place in Ahmedabad from October 2–6, followed by the second and final match in New Delhi from October 10–14.
The selectors have given 33-year-old all-rounder Khary Pierre his first Test call-up, while Roston Chase will continue to captain the Caribbean team with Jomel Warrican as his deputy.
However, Brathwaite, 32, who captained the West Indies on their most recent tour of India in 2018 and resigned from the position in March of this year, was left out of the squad after a dismal batting performance against Australia in their most recent three-Test series at home.
The right-hander was removed from the third Test after scoring 4, 4, 0, and 7 in the previous two. In the second Test at Grenada, Brathwaite became just the tenth cricketer from the West Indies to complete 100 Tests.
“Chanderpaul and Athanaze have been included to bolster the top-order batting while Pierre has been included as the second specialist spinner in the squad after strong performances in the West Indies Championship, where topped with 41 wickets at an average of 13.56,” Cricket West Indies said on their website.
“The national selectors have opted to rest Gudakesh Motie for this red-ball series given the demands of the upcoming limited-overs schedule, the highlight being the ICC T20 World Cup in February and March next year,” it added.
Former captain and head coach Daren Sammy said, “The return of Tagenarine Chanderpaul is to help transform our fortunes at the top of the order given the recent struggles, with Alick Athanaze being added for his strengths and qualities against spin bowling. Khary is included for the first time as our second spinner in what we expect to be helpful conditions.”
The team will depart the Caribbean on September 22 and arrive in Ahmedabad on September 24.
West Indies squad: Roston Chase (captain), Jomel Warrican (vice-captain), Kevlon Anderson, Alick Athanaze, John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope (w/k), Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Jayden Seales
Team Management: Head Coach: Daren Sammy, Assistant Coach (Batting): Floyd Reifer, Assistant Coach (Bowling): Ravi Rampaul, Assistant Coach (Fielding): Rayon Griffith
