India announce 15-member Test squad for West Indies series
India have named their 15-member squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against West Indies that will begin from 4th October. Uncapped Mayank Agarwal has earned his maiden call-up to the Test side due to his consistently good performances at the domestic level.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan has been dropped from the Test squad due to his poor form in the format. He has averaged 27.36 from 6 matches played this year.
First-choice pacers Jaspreet Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been rested after a hectic tour to England. Bumrah also participated in the recently concluded Asia Cup. All-rounder Hardik Pandya and pacer Ishant Sharma have been sidelined due to injuries.
Uncapped Prithvi Shaw has been retained in the Test squad despite not playing a single game for India in England. He is expected to make his debut against West Indies and will get an opportunity to open the innings alongside Lokesh Rahul.
Mayank Agarwal richly deserved his selection after scoring 1160 runs in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy. He is leading runs-scorer in the domestic 50-over tournament and scored 1593 runs at an average of 70. Agarwal will be keen to make an impression if given a chance to play in the West Indies series.
Karun Nair, who was selected in the Test squad for India’s tour to England, has been dropped. Hanuma Vihari made his debut in the final game of the series against England has retained his place in the squad. Muhammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami are pace options in the Test squad for the coming series against West Indies. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravendra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are three spinners included in the setup for the two-match Test series.
The first game of the series will be played at Saurashtra Association Cricket Stadium, Rajkot from 4th October. The second and final game will be played at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on 12th October.
India’s Test squad for West Indies series: Virat Kohli (captain), Lokesh Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Prithvi Shaw, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Ravendra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara.
