Along with Mohammed Shami being rested and Umesh Yadav dropped, Mukesh Kumar has also been named to the team.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Mukesh Kumar have been named to India’s Test squad for the first time, while Cheteshwar Pujara has been omitted and Mohammed Shami has been rested. Fast bowler Navdeep Saini has also returned to the squad, but Umesh Yadav has been dropped.
After scoring only 14 and 27 in the World Test Championship final against Australia earlier in June, India will have a new No. 3 for the series. Unless India moves Shubman Gill to No. 3, Pujara’s slot might be filled by either Jaiswal or Gaikwad for India’s maiden WTC series in the 2023-2025 cycle.
Ajinkya Rahane, India’s top scorer at The Oval, has retained his spot after returning to the Test team after a 15-month sabbatical. He was also appointed vice-captain. The rest of the squad, led by Rohit Sharma, consists of the majority of the players chosen for the WTC final.
Jaiswal travelled to London with Mukesh as a stand-by player when Gaikwad, who was on the initial list of back-ups, withdrew to marry. While Jaiswal and Mukesh have no international experience, Gaikwad has played 10 limited-overs internationals, the most recent of which was an ODI against South Africa in October of last year.
Gaikwad has a first-class average of 42.19 from 28 games with six hundreds, and his technique has impressed selectors and team management, who have been attempting to bring him into the Test team for some time.
Jaiswal has been a standout performer for Mumbai, with a first-class average of 80.21 in 26 innings. In his most recent first-class match, he struck 213 and 144 for Rest of India against Madhya Pradesh in the Irani Cup. This total of 357 is the highest by any batter in an Irani Cup game. Jaiswal can not only open but also bat at No. 3 if necessary.
Mukesh is a workhorse for Bengal. The 30-year-old is a line-and-length fast bowler with a strong domestic record. He was instrumental in Bengal reaching two Ranji Trophy finals in the previous three seasons and has been on the Test radar for a time, having been on every India A tour over the last two seasons. He has 149 wickets in 39 first-class games.
With Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer still recovering from surgery for various ailments, and Rishabh Pant undergoing rehab after surviving a car collision last December, KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan have been named India’s wicketkeepers for the Caribbean series. Bharat has played all five Tests following Pant’s injury, but has only scored 129 runs at an 18.42 average.
Axar Patel backs up R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the spin department. Jaydev Unadkat, who has been a member of every Test team since the December tour of Bangladesh, was also retained and is the only left-arm seamer in a fast bowling trio that includes Mohammed Siraj, Saini, and Mukesh.
The first Test of India’s West Indies tour begins on July 12 in Dominica. The second Test began on July 20 at Port-of-Spain’s Queen’s Park Oval. In 2019, they won their previous Test series in the Caribbean 2-0.
