Gargi Raut in Dubai
After India sealed its final berth at the Asia Cup following a comprehensive win against Bangladesh last night, Ajit Agarkar, chief selector of the Indian team held a press conference at the Taj Hotel in Dubai to announce a 15-member squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against West Indies. While Shubman Gill leads the side, in the absence of Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja has been named the vice-captain.
WTC Stakes Loom Large
“Because of the WTC every series becomes important,” Agarkar said while announcing the squad. “The New Zealand home series was a wake-up call. All series are critical, we want to get as many points as possible, particularly at home. We don’t want what happened against New Zealand to be repeated.”
The selectors have largely stuck to a tried-and-tested core, with only a few positions open for experimentation. “You try and pick the best 15, sometimes you have to make tough decisions,” Agarkar noted. “Most of the Test players pick themselves, only one or two spots are left open. We are confident we’ve picked a good squad.”
India will once again be without Pant, who is yet to fully recover from injury sustained at Old Trafford during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Talking about Shreyas Iyer returning from the India A series, Agarkar said “Shreyas is a senior player and was captain for India A as well. Unfortunately, he won’t be available. More than anything, we want him playing and playing well,”
India’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been included but questions about his workload management still arise “Normally his discussions are with physios, trainers and the coach. We want him to do well, he’s a terrific performer, but we have to be careful. The team comes first.”
The squad features young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy who impressed during recent outings. “NKR showed a lot of promise with the way he bowled and his batting under pressure. He’s a young kid who’s developing and gives a lot of flexibility.”
The chairman also answered questions about Ishan Kishan’s absence from the squad “When we picked India A, Ishan wasn’t fit. Jagadeesan was part of the squad when Ishan wasn’t fit. Ishan will have to play a bit more cricket and show some performances,” the chairman explained.
Abhimanyu Easwaran missed out. “When you travel you take a third opener, but here you get an extra spin option in Axar (Patel) and we only get to pick 15. KL (Rahul) and Jaiswal haven’t done too badly; if we need him we can fly him out,” Agarkar said.
With stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R. Ashwin having announced their retirement from the format, the selectors are now focused on the future.
“Eventually it’s about continuity. There have been a few changes at No.3 but that’s been because of changes lower down the order. When someone like Virat or Rohit retires, those are big holes to fill, even Ashwin. But we want to give a long rope to players in their particular position and give them time to build their careers.”
India Squad for West Indies Tests
Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, N Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, N Jagadeesan, Ravindra Jadeja. Sai Sudharsan.
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