Follow UsKarun Nair’s Test career could be over as the 33-year-old, who made his India comeback in the five-Test series against England earlier this year, has been axed from the squad for the two-Test series against West Indies at home in October, with Karnataka’s Devdutt Padikkal taking his place.
Karun stormed back into the Test side following tearing down the domestic circuit, but he could only average 25.62 in the England series, passing the 50-run mark just once. That fifty came in the final Test at The Oval, but his inability to convert scores has seen him pay the price.
Padikkal’s inclusion comes as no surprise, as he’s been in stellar form in red-ball cricket. The left-hander is currently playing in the unofficial Test series against Australia ‘A’ and in the first game, he smashed 150. Before that, he’d posted scores of 57 & 16* in the only game he played in the Duleep Trophy for South Zone.
Rishabh Pant will miss the series due to the fractured toe he suffered in the fifth Test against England, and Dhruv Jurel will thus serve as the first-choice wicketkeeper. And that has brought about a maiden call-up in a home Test for Narayan Jagadeesan, who was part of the squad for the fifth Test against England.
Like Padikkal, Jagadeesan has been in sizzling form in first-class cricket, with him scoring 197 & 52* in the Duleep Trophy and 64 in the first unofficial Test against Australia A.
Nitish Kumar Reddy returns from injury as well, while Jasprit Bumrah has not been rested. Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj, who are both playing in the ‘A’ series against Australia ‘A’, are the other seamers, while Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar are the spinners. Ravindra Jadeja completes the spin quartet, and he’s also been named vice-captain in Pant’s absence.
The omission of Mohammed Shami suggests that his Test career is all but over. Meanwhile, pacer Akash Deep, who also had a very good tour of England, has been left out as well.
The two-Test series will start from October 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India squad for West Indies Tests
Shubman Gill (c), Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), N. Jagadeesan (wk), Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna