(Cricket news) After the disappointment of the World Test Championship final, India will play 2 away Test matches against the West Indies. BCCI have announced a 16-member squad for the series with maiden call-ups for three players. India need to bounce back well to make sure that they make it to the next World Test Championship finals. The men in blue have been trying to refresh and transition the team for a while now but they just go back a step every time. Now there is another opportunity to do so but Rahul Dravid and the selectors need to be patient. There is a long WTC cycle coming and young players need to be backed.
India’s squad for the 2 Tests against West Indies:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
The big news is that veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped. India have tried to move on from Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane but it hasn’t happened yet. The pair were dropped after the South Africa series but Pujara was called back for the England Test after an incredible County stint. After that he was the player of the series in Bangladesh but failures in the Border Gavaskar trophy and the World Test Championship final have resulted in him being dropped again. The reason Pujara was called back last time was because his replacement Hanuma Vihari underperformed but this time around the route to a comeback would be tougher.
Ajinkya Rahane on the other hand has been named vice captain again after being India’s best batter in the final. Rahane made a comeback after an injury to Shreyas Iyer and he made the most of that opportunity. This series will be crucial for him to continue his form and get some consistency. His appointment as a vice-captain is surprising but it is understandable because he has done that role brilliantly in the past.
Mohammed Shami is not a part of the squad but he has most likely been rested for the entire tour. Umesh Yadav on the other hand is definitely dropped as he was only playing one format for a long time. It is time for India to move on and get young seamers in. Mohammed Siraj will lead the attack while Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat are likely to accompany him. Navdeep Saini is back for the first time since the 2020/21 Border Gavaskar trophy. While Mukesh Kumar is rewarded for his excellent domestic and India A performances with a maiden call-up.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad have both been called up. Gaikwad was supposed to be a stand-by for the World Test Championship final but opted out due to personal reasons and was replaced by Jaiswal. They both are in the squad to replace Pujara despite being openers. Jaiswal is probably higher in the pecking order because of his incredible domestic form. He may have to bat at number 3 or could open with Shubhman Gill moving down the order.
Once again Sarfaraz Khan has been overlooked despite scoring runs for fun in domestic cricket. Ruturaj Gaikwad has gotten an opportunity despite a modest red-ball record. Even the likes of Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easawaran have not been considered. It has become pretty clear that IPL performances significantly have a higher impact than domestic red ball performances. KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan have both kept their places and it will be interesting to see which one of them gets the nod.
Also read: England’s selection dilemma ahead of the 2nd Test at Lord’s
