Indian Test squad to face West Indies announced
The selectors have announced the Indian squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against West Indies. Mayank Agarwal and Mohammed Siraj were rewarded for their consistent performances in the domestic circuit as they were named in the India Test squad for the first time.
Virat Kohli, who was rested for the 2018 Asia Cup, was named as the captain of the side in spite of reports of him suffering a wrist injury. Along with Kohli, spinner R Ashwin is also named in the squad after clearing the fitness test earlier today. Pacer Ishant Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya were not included in the squad after the duo failed to recover from their respective injuries.
Keeping the upcoming tour of Australia in mind, the selectors have rested pacers Jasprit Bbumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the two-match series. With the series taking place in India, the selectors have included three spinners in R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav along with four pacers which include Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur and Siraj.
Rishabh Pant has been chosen as the wicketkeeper ahead of Dinesh Karthik while Hanuma Vihari was picked as the backup batsman ahead of Karun Nair, who did not get a single game in the tour of England.
"Taking stock of the recent workload, the selectors have decided to rest Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Both Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya were not considered for selection as they are yet to recover from their injuries," a BCCI release read.
India take on West Indies in the first of the two matches that begin in Rajkot on October 4 before both the teams travel to Hyderabad for the second Test that begins on October 12.
India squad for Windies Tests: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.