Devdutt Padikkal took an out of form Karun Nair’s spot, and star India pacer Jasprit Bumrah was added to the Test squad on Thursday for the home series against the West Indies.
Due to workload management, Bumrah had only participated in three of the five Test matches in England. However, he had made himself available for the two-match West Indies series, which begins in Ahmedabad on October 2.
Shubman Gill will lead the team, and Ravindra Jadeja was appointed as its vice-captain. On October 10, the series’ second game will take place in Delhi.
“Bumrah is ready and keen to play both Tests against West Indies,” Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said in Dubai.
“We want best for Bumrah but team always comes first. We have to be careful with big tournaments around,” he added.
Regular vice-captain Rishabh Pant was not available for selection since he has not fully recovered from a foot injury sustained during the England series.
“…hopefully he will be available for home Tests against South Africa (in November),” Agarkar said.
The two wicket-keepers in the team to compensate for his absence against the West Indies are Dhruv Jurel and N Jagadeesan.
From November 14 to November 26, two Test matches will be played in Kolkata and Guwahati as part of the series against South Africa. After the red-ball rubber, there will be a three-match ODI and a five-match T20 International series.
On December 19, the final T201 will wrap up the Proteas’ tour.
India squad for West Indies series: Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL 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
