India's batting mainstay to miss the West Indies Tests
Recovering from an injury he sustained during the England Test series, Rishabh Pant will be out of action during the upcoming home series.
India have announced their squad for the upcoming two-Test series against West Indies starting October 2.
A major absentee in the squad is wicket-keeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who is still undergoing rehabilitation for a left foot fracture.
Pant had picked up the injury during India's fifth Test against England at The Oval back in July-August.
The upcoming series will be India's second assignment in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship cycle, having drawn the five-Test series in England 2-2.
India squad: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, N Jagadeesan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav
Ravindra Jadeja, who had a stunning England tour being the fourth highest run-getter in the tournament despite coming down the order has replaced Pant as the vice-captain for the two-match series against the West Indies.
From the Test squad against England, India have left out Karun Nair and Akash Deep, while Sai Sudharsan gets another chance with Devdutt Padikkal and Axar Patel getting a look in for the home series.
Narayan Jagadeesan, who was named as Pant's replacement during the England Tests, has also been included in the 15-member unit.
India's chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, in a press conference in Dubai, said that the expectations from Nair were more (during the England series).
"We expected more from Karun, Padikkal offers a little bit more at this point.
"Wish we could give everyone 15-20 Tests, unfortunately it doesn't work that way.
"Padikkal was in the Test squad in Australia, played against England in Dharamsala, got a fifty there. He's shown some decent form. Frankly, we expected a bit more from Karun."
Nair had scored 205 runs in eight innings against England, with the highest score of 57, including a sole half-century.
Agarkar confirmed that Bumrah will be available for both the Tests, with doubts hovering over India's main pacer's presence in the series, after he played only the three out of five Tests in England.
"This team has been picked for both the Tests, so he's (Bumrah is) available for both Tests.
"We've had a fair break after England. He didn't play the fifth Test (at The Oval) either, so there has been a five-week break.
"Even this tournament (Asia Cup) has been fairly spaced out till the last week. So no, he's ready and keen to play both Test matches."
India are currently placed third in the ICC World Test Championship table and this will be their first home series in this cycle. On the other hand, West Indies are yet to open their account in the points table.
The sides will be taking on each other on October 2 in Ahmedabad for the first Test, followed by the second Test on October 10 in Delhi.
