The Indian cricket team squad for the two-match Test series against the West Indies is out. Several players who were part of the June-August England tour are not included in the named side, such as Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shardul Thakur, and Karun Nair. Sarfaraz Khan, who recently stunned everyone by losing a lot of weight, does not find his name on the list. Sarfaraz played matches for India A on the England tour; however, he was not part of the main squad. He last played for India against New Zealand at home in October 2024.
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar was asked about Sarfaraz Khan’s absence, and he replied: “He is injured.”
In the squad for the two home Tests against the West Indies, starting from October 2, Devdutt Padikkal makes a return, while senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been named vice-captain.
Padikkal’s last appearance in Tests came in the first game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in November 2024, where he registered scores of 0 and 25 in two innings. Earlier this month, the left-hander scored a century in the first unofficial Test against Australia A in Lucknow.
Shubman Gill, who took over the red-ball captaincy from Rohit Sharma after the latter retired from the format, will lead the side, with Ravindra Jadeja as his deputy.
Dhruv Jurel, who replaced the injured Rishabh Pant in the playing XI for the final Test against England in August, has been named the wicketkeeper for the Windies series, with N Jagadeesan included as the backup keeper. Pant was the vice-captain during the recent five-match England series; the 27-year-old sustained a serious injury to his foot in the fourth Test and was subsequently ruled out of the fifth and final game