The first of two Tests between India and the Windies will be played at Windsor Park in Dominica from July 12 to 16
India has revealed their roster for the Test series against the West Indies, which kicks off the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) season. It will be a few of years of transition as the superstars of the 2010s are gradually moved out of the squad to make room for fresher talents, the future of the country’s red-ball game.
This means that experienced top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara will miss the tour, having been replaced by rookie openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Jaiswal, in particular, has earned his chance at Tests because to a spectacular average of more than 80 in domestic first-class cricket, notably a performance in the Irani Cup final against Madhya Pradesh in which he followed up a first-innings double century with another century in the second.
Other names, though, are left off the team list for the hitting positions. Indian supporters are outraged at Gaikwad’s inclusion in the team because they believe the selectors don’t reward consistent domestic achievements, instead favouring white-ball players who have excelled in the IPL and other tournaments.
India especially Abhimanyu Easwaran, a captain, hasn’t been called up to the squad despite evidence from his body of work that he was being developed into a player who may eventually replace Pujara at number three. For Bengal, Easwaran has participated in over 90 First-Class games, averaging 47 as the opener throughout that time. Easwaran was given his first call-up in December to replace Rohit Sharma on the tour of Bangladesh, but he now has to wait even longer despite being the best opening batter on the local circuit for almost a decade.
Sarfaraz Khan, a batter for Mumbai, is another player who supporters believe ought to have been called up. Sarfaraz has had three incredible Ranji seasons, scoring a tonne of runs in Mumbai’s middle order. With his ability to strike both pace and spin, he would have been the perfect player to take Rishabh Pant’s spot in the middle order’s counterattacking role. He has a strike rate of 70 and an average of 80 in First Class matches.
