Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who was rested for the recently concluded Asia Cup 2018, will lead the 15-member Indian cricket team for the upcoming two-match Test series against the West Indies.
The two-Test match series will kick start on October 4 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot. Senior Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan, however, has been axed from the national side after his poor show in England. Meanwhile, Karun Nair, who was included in the Indian squad for the England tour, but did not play a single game, has also been axed from the Test team.
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Rohit Sharma, who guided India to Asia Cup 2018 glory, also did not find a place in the Test side. Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, and Mohammed Siraj have been included in the squad while fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been rested.
Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has also been dropped from the Test side and Murali Vijay, who was dropped for the final two Tests in England, is once again ignored.
Delhi batsman Rishabh Pant is the only wicketkeeper in the India squad. Young batsman Hanuma Vihari, who also impressed on debut in the last Test against England at The Oval, London, also found a place in the squad.
“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 statement said.
Indian team for the West Indies tour: Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.
