BCCI’s chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, has announced India’s squad for the upcoming Test series against the West Indies. The 15-member team was revealed on Thursday afternoon.
Shubman Gill will continue as captain of the side. Ravindra Jadeja has been named as the new vice-captain. Karun Nair has been left out after a poor run in England. Devdutt Padikkal has been picked in his place.
The squad announcement was originally planned for Wednesday in Dubai. It was supposed to be made during India’s Asia Cup 2025 Super Four clash against Bangladesh. But the press conference was pushed to Thursday.
India will have little time to rest after the Asia Cup. The team, coached by Gautam Gambhir, has already qualified for the final of the T20 tournament. They defeated Pakistan and Bangladesh in the Super Four. The final will be played on September 28 in Dubai. Only three days later, India will begin their Test campaign.
The two-match series against the West Indies will begin on October 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The second Test will be played at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. This will be India’s second Test assignment in the new World Test Championship cycle. Earlier, they drew the series 2-2 in England against Ben Stokes’ team.
The series will also carry extra importance for India. It will be their first Test series at home since the heavy 0-3 loss to New Zealand last November. That was India’s first whitewash at home since 2000, when they lost 0-2 to South Africa.
India’s 15-member squad for the West Indies Tests:
Shubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, N Jagadeesan.
Agarkar said the selectors were confident about the squad. “This group has the right balance of youth and experience. We believe they can deliver at home and keep India strong in the WTC cycle,” he stated.
