Indian selectors have activated transition mode in Tests as there was no place for Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav in the Rohit Sharma-led 16-member squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against the West Indies. The away series vs the West Indies starts a new World Test Championship cycle and the selectors have injected Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashashvi Jaiswal into the set-up and have also included seamer Navdeep Saini, who last played in the whites for India back in the 2021 series vs Australia.
Pujara has been the first casualty of the transition as the right-hander, who has played 103 Tests for the country, was not able to replicate his County show in the Test arena. He did stage a comeback when he was dropped last time but it’s very unlikely that we will see Pujara again in the Test set-up. The right-hander last featured in the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval and could only manage 14 and 27. From the look of things, either Gaikwad or Jaiswal are likely to be auditioned for the No.3 spot in the West Indies series.
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With Ajinkya Rahane staging an emphatic return to Tests in the WTC final vs Australia, the selectors have avoided the traffic jam in the middle-order. There was no place for Suryakumar Yadav, who was in the Border Gavaskar Trophy squad and also travelled with the team as a standby for the WTC final, as the attacking right-hander is not likely to feature in the XI. The VC next to Rahane’s name is another interesting development and if the right-hander can continue with his good run with the bat, he can be looked at as one of the captaincy options for the upcoming WTC cycle.
From the World Test Championship final squad against Australia, there have been only two changes in the bowling department as Mohammed Shami, who has been consistently on the road, has been rested and Umesh Yadav has made way for Navdeep Saini. Umesh was given a decent rope by the management but the seamer has failed to live up to the expectations and his lack of consistency continues to hurt the side. It will be interesting to see how the move to pick Saini pans out as the seamer has been very injury prone and a regular at the NCA due to his injury troubles. He last played for India two years ago and since then, he has been either recovering at the NCA or warming the bench for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
There’s a bright possibility of seeing more of Jaydev Unadkat and Mukesh Kumar in the upcoming cycle as the two have done well in the domestic red-ball circuit and have the ability to pull of long and consistent spells. Shardul Thakur holds on to his place as the bowling all-rounder in the squad which has Mohammed Siraj as the lead seamer.
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No surprises in the spin department as the trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel has been retained. After the backlash management received for dropping Ashwin in the WTC final, it remains to be seen how they handle the situation during the scheduled away assignments.
Ishan Kishan or KS Bharat?
At the end of the West Indies series, we will have the answer to this question as only one is likely to retain his spot in the Test squad. If the management persists with Bharat, who has been very underwhelming with the bat, he needs a solid show to repay the faith of the management. If he fails, there is a Ishan Kishan waiting to be tested and then a Upendra Yadav, doing well in the India A and domestic circuit ready to grab his chance.
During the Border Gavaskar Trophy, captain Rohit had said that every player will get a fair and consistent run. May it be Ishan or Bharat. India played Bharat throughout the BGT, backed him for WTC final and have retained him for the West Indies series. About time he puts on a show with the bat else it’s a matter of time before he makes way for other stumpers in the queue.
India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
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