Indian Squad for West Indies Test Announced, Pujara Loses his Spot
The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has just released the Indian team squad for the two test matches to be played against the West Indies in the second week of July. This series is going to be a part of the new World Test Championship cycle, i.e., 2023–2025.
The two test matches in the series will be played in Dominica and Trinidad, respectively. The first test match will begin on July 12, 2023, whereas the other test match will be played on July 20, 2023. Both matches will begin at 7:30 p.m. IST in India.
The BCCI has decided to send a strong squad for the series and not take the Caribbeans lightly at their home ground. The most shocking and notable exclusion from the squad is Cheteshwar Pujara. The Indian number 3 in tests and the so-called Wall of Indian Cricket after Rahul Dravid has been dropped from the test team due to his underperformance in the past tournaments.
Some other exclusions from the squad are Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav, both players who featured in the WTC final for India against Australia in June. Shami has probably been given some rest to manage his workload, whereas the exclusion of Umesh Yadav is hinting at his getting dropped from the team due to a lack of performance.
Jasprit Bumrah has still not been declared fit to play, as the BCCI is not rushing considering this is a World Cup year. Some young players have been rewarded for their hard work and dedication with a place in the squad for this tour.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal have managed to get into the squad, and one of these will likely get the India cap on this tour and play at the number 3 position in both test matches. Fast bowlers Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini have also been included in the squad this time around.
Full Squad for two Test matches: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K.S. Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat, Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini.
