Bumrah back in Test squad for West Indies series; doors shut on Karun, Easwaran

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was on Thursday named in India’s Test squad for the home series against the West Indies, while Devdutt Padikkal replaced Karun Nair, who could not deliver fully on what was “expected” of him in the opportunities offered so far.

While announcing the 15-member squad at the Indian team hotel here, Chairman of Selectors Ajit Agarkar dropped elaborate hints that Nair and Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran are no longer in the scheme of things.

Rishabh Pant’s absence has resulted in Ravindra Jadeja’s elevation as vice-captain for the West Indies, while stylish Karnataka left-hander Padikkal, 25, is being seen as a long-term investment along with the 23-year-old Sai Sudharsan, who has locked the No.3 slot.

On Bumrah, Agarkar was clear that the pacer is well-rested and good to go in the series that gets underway on October 2 in Ahemdabad.

“This is a team for both the Test matches. So, he’s available for both. We’ve had a fair break after England. He didn’t play the fifth Test either. There’s been a month or five weeks of break,” he said in response to a PTI query.

“This tournament (the ongoing Asia Cup here where Bumrah is playing) has been fairly spaced out till this last week. He’s ready and keen to play both Test matches,” Agarkar explained.

However, while speaking on Nair, he was clear that the 30-year-old burly Bengaluru man didn’t make full use of opportunities, scoring one fifty in eight innings during the tour of England.

“We feel Padikkal offers a little bit more at this point and I wish we could give everyone 15 or 20 Tests. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way,” Agarkar said.

“Padikkal’s been in the Test squad. Frankly, we expected a bit more from Karun in England. Devdutt was in the Test squad in Australia, played in Dharamsala against England, got a 50 there. He’s shown some decent form within the race,” the former pacer stated.

When asked why Sudharsan got the nod when he and Nair had a similar run in England, Agarkar said: “Eventually, it’s a little bit about continuity. There were a few changes at No.3 because of the combination that we played.

“But going forward, Sai has shown a lot of promise. We know he’s a very good player. Hopefully, we can give him a longish run from now on, at a particular number,” he explained.

No place for Easwaran

Easwaran, a frequent traveller with the squad for the last three to four years but never a member of the playing team, now finds himself out of the picture.

Agarkar urged people not to read too much into it, although with no foreign tours for the next one year, Easwaran’s Test debut looks unlikely with N Jagadeesan being looked at as a potential third opener.

“Normally, when you travel abroad, you carry 16 or 17, you take a third opener. KL Rahul and (Yashasvi) Jaiswal haven’t done too badly. At the moment, we don’t need a third opener just sitting out in the squad,” Agarkar said.

“If need be, we can always fly him and play the Test.”

The selectors felt that Axar Patel as an all-rounder is a better fit.

“You get an extra spinner all-rounder in Axar Patel who wasn’t part of the squad to England and we’ve only picked 15 here. There’s nothing to his story.”

Pant set to be fit for South Africa Tests

Agarkar also informed that Jadeja, being the senior-most player, was announced vice-captain as Pant will only be available for the South Africa Tests.

“Rishabh is the vice-captain at the moment and a key player. But unfortunately, he hasn’t quite recovered to make this particular Test series. We’re hopeful that he’ll be available for South Africa. And Jadeja has been one of your top performers,” he said.

The series against South Africa will feature two Tests in Kolkata and Guwahati from November 14 to 26. A three-match ODI and five-match T20 International series will follow the red-ball rubber.

The full tour by the Proteas will conclude with the final T20I on December 19.

No update on Shami

On the status of veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, Agarkar said he is unaware of how fit he is and hinted that he is not in the scheme of things.

“I don’t have an update,” was his quick retort when asked about Shami.

“He’s played a couple of matches. But he’s not had a lot of cricket. In the last two-three years, I think he’s played one match for Bengal and one match in the Duleep Trophy,” the chairman said.

Squad:

Shubman Gill ©, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt  Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, N Jagadeesan (WK), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav.