Three big-ticket players shockingly snubbed by BCCI for India vs West Indies Tests

India travel to face the Windies next month, with the first of two Tests being played at Windsor Park in Dominica from July 12 to 16.

India announced their squad for the Test series against West Indies, which also marks the beginning of 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. It will be a couple of years spent managing transition as the superstars of the 2010s are slowly phased away from the team to make way for fresher candidates, the future of the red-ball game in the country.

Indian players in a huddle (BCCI Twitter)

This means veteran top order batter Cheteshwar Pujara misses out on the tour, dropped for young openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Jaiswal in particular has earned his shot at Tests on the back of a phenomenal average sitting above 80 in domestic first class cricket, including a performance in the Irani Cup final in which he backed up a first innings double century with another century in the second against Madhya Pradesh.

However, the squad list sees some other names miss out in the batting positions. Gaikwad’s selection in the team has sparked ire amongst Indian fans, who feel the selectors aren’t rewarding consistent domestic performances, instead opting for white-ball players, who have done well in IPL and other competitions.

Abhimanyu Easwaran

Abhimanyu Easwaran raises his hands after slamming a ton for India A in the tour of Bangladesh (BCCI)

Notably, India A captain Abhimanyu Easwaran hasn’t earned a call-up to the team, despite his body of work suggesting he was being molded into the type of player who could take Pujara’s role at number 3 in future. Easwaran has played nearly 90 First-Class matches for Bengal, and averaged 47 in that duration as an opener. Easwaran received his maiden call-up as replacement for Rohit Sharma in the tour of Bangladesh last December, but has to wait in the wings even longer, despite being the domestic circuit’s finest opening batter for close to a decade now.

Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz Khan celebrates after scoring his century during a Ranji Trophy encounter (PTI)

Another player who fans think deserved a call-up is Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan. Sarfaraz’s last three Ranji seasons have been phenomenal, as he has racked up huge score in Mumbai’s middle order. He would have been the ideal player to replace Rishabh Pant in the counter-attacking middle order role, capable of hitting both pace and spin. He has an average touching 80 in First Class matches, all at a strike rate of 70.

Suryakumar Yadav

File photo of Suryakumar Yadav (Twitter)

Suryakumar Yadav is another batter who has received some calls to play that destructive role for the Indian team. SKY made his Test debut against Australia at Nagpur earlier this year, but fell very early into his innings. However, he has shown class consistently in the T20 format, and the ability to take down any kind of bowling — something which would prove useful if the need to score quick runs of alleviate pressure arises.

There will be some questions regarding how India lineup for the Tests in the West Indies, particularly who takes up the number three slot vacated by Pujara. Key injuries to Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul alongside those to Pant have changed the look of the middle order, with Ajinkya Rahane making a return to the Test squad and KS Bharat deputising behind the stumps.

On the bowling front, Mohammed Shami has been rested after a large workload since the turn of the year following Jasprit Bumrah’s injury, while Umesh Yadav has also been dropped. Mukesh Kumar earns his maiden call up as well as Navdeep Saini, who marks his return after the historic Australia tour of 2021.

India travel to face the Windies next month, with the first of two Tests being played at Windsor Park in Dominica from July 12 to 17.