India’s star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will miss the upcoming West Indies Test series and the white-ball tour of Australia.
Pant Injured, Recovery in Bengaluru
Pant injured his foot during the 4th Test against England. He is currently recovering in Bengaluru, walking with a boot. He will need another 3–4 weeks to regain full fitness, meaning he is likely to return only for the South Africa Tests in November.
Jurel and Jagadeesan to Step Up
With Pant unavailable, Dhruv Jurel will take the role of main wicketkeeper. Narayan Jagadeesan, in excellent form in domestic cricket, will serve as backup. Jagadeesan was part of the team in the last England Test and has proven he can perform under pressure.
Predicted Indian Squad for West Indies Tests
India’s expected squad for the West Indies Tests includes KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Akash Deep, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Narayan Jagadeesan.
Relying on Bench Strength
India will now rely on bench strength to compensate for Pant, the team’s X-factor. The squad aims to perform strongly against West Indies before traveling to Australia for the white-ball series.
