India will take on the West Indies in a two-Test series starting on October 2nd, and the hosts' squad will be announced on September 24 by the BCCI. India will likely pick a 15-member squad, with the first Test to be played in Ahmedabad and the second to be played in Delhi from October 10.
While speculations are rich, one of the players whose spot in the Indian squad is in danger is Karun Nair. Nair made his India Test return on the England tour after a super performance in domestic cricket. However, in the four tests he played, he managed just over fifty and failed to replicate his domestic form.
As per a Cricbuzz report, the BCCI selectors are ready to move on from Nair, who made 205 runs in 8 innings at an average of 25.60. His fellow Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal is the likely replacement in the middle order.
Padikkal, who scored 150 against the touring Australia A team in Lucknow a few days ago, has been in much better form lately than Nair. However, since the end of the England trip, Nair has not participated in any competitive cricket matches.
Nitish Reddy's selection is also set to be discussed as he recovers from the knee injury he suffered in England. However, the selectors are likely to stick with the pace-bowling all-rounder because there isn't a better option in red-ball cricket.
Rishabh Pant, who suffered a broken foot on the England tour, is most likely to miss the two-Test series against the West Indies. He was also India’s vice-captain on the England tour and fractured his foot trying to play a reverse sweep to a Chris Woakes yorker in the fourth Test in Manchester.
Dhruv Jurel took over the keeping duties for the fourth and was included in India XI for the fifth Test as the wicket-keeper. Pant has been undergoing strength and conditioning and is awaiting further updates from the BCCI medical team before he can resume batting and keeping.
Jurel will most likely take over as wicket-keeper for the West Indies series. Tamil Nadu’s Narayan Jagadeesan could be the backup in case the selectors opt for a second specialist wicketkeeper for the West Indies series.
The India-West Indies Tests are part of the World Test Championship (WTC). India is currently third on the WTC table, after drawing the five-match England series 2-2. The West Indies are sixth after three losses in three games.
(Cricbuzz report)
