R Ashwin was benched for the important ICC WTC 2023 final.
Team India was outplayed by Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final, losing the match by a huge margin of 209 runs.
With the completion of the WTC 2021-23 cycle, the talk about transition is expected. A lot of the Indian players are on the wrong side of 30s and the team might be revamped going into the next edition.
Ahead of the next WTC edition, former national selector Devang Gandhi said that it might be sensible to give a chance to a young contender like Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of someone like Pujara during the tour of the West Indies next month.
"The problem is that you give a West Indies Test series to Pujara and if he scores, you have got to persist with him for one more year as there are no Tests after this till December. So do you do that or straightaway get a youngster and get him ready for bigger battles," Gandhi was quoted as saying by PTI.
While Shubman Gill is seen as a future captain, Gandhi said someone like R Ashwin or Ajinkya Rahane could be considered for vice-captaincy until the younger opener establishes himself in the side.
"Why not Ashwin? And if you say that he is not a certainty overseas, then I would say even Rahane, despite being a vice-captain, was dropped from playing XI at one point. So even Ashwin can be considered or Rahane for a short time before Gill cements his place in Test XI," Gandhi opined.
India’s next assignment is the tour of the West Indies, featuring two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is. Dominica will host the first Test from July 12 to 16 while the second Test will be played in Trinidad from July 20 to 24.