Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair may miss West Indies Test series:Dhruv Jurel, Devdutt Padikkal might fit in; two-match series kicks off on 2 Oct in Ahmedabad

India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will not be able to play against the West Indies in the upcoming two-match home Test series, scheduled to kick off on 2 October in Ahmedabad. Notably, the Indian selectors’ committee, led by Ajit Agarkar will hold a meeting on 24 September to select a 15-member team for this series. However, the Test squad for the West Indies series will have two players fewer than the squad that played against New Zealand last year. The first one is Rishabh Pant, who was injured during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy played in England. He suffered a fracture in his left leg during the fourth Test in Manchester. Although he batted in the first innings, he was replaced by N Jagadeesan before the final Test. Currently, Pant is undergoing rehabilitation at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. He is working on conditioning and waiting for the medical team’s next report; that’s why there is no confirmed info about his return. After the West Indies series, India will play a limited-overs series in Australia from 19 October. Dhruv Jurel to take charge of wicketkeeping role In Pant’s absence, Dhruv Jurel will be India’s leading wicketkeeper in the West Indies series. Jurel kept wickets in the last two Tests of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England. Meanwhile, he is currently playing against Australia A in Lucknow. N Jagadeesan, who shared wicketkeeping duties with Jurel along with opening against Australia A, can find a place in the team as backup wicketkeeper. Also Read: Can India and Pakistan meet in Asia Cup final?:Men in Green must win back-to-back games to set up first IND-PAK final in 41 years Karun Nair may not find redemption Karun Nair did not impress in the series against England where batters dominated the most. So other players’ name lies in fray for his spots. Notably, over 7,000 runs were scored, including 21 centuries and 29 half-centuries, between the two teams in the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy. On the other hand, Nair played four Tests, scoring only 205 runs at an average of just over 25, with single half-century in eight innings. He did not have a big score, the highest being 57 in the first innings of the Oval Test. Nitish Kumar and Devdutt Padikkal may get a chance Andhra Pradesh’s Nitish Kumar Reddy and Karnataka’s Devdutt Padikkal could be included in the team for this series. Devdutt Padikkal is also in discussions after scoring 150 runs against Australia A. He batted at number 3 in the Perth Test against Australia last year, where he scored 0 and 25 runs. After recovering from a knee injury in England, Nitish Kumar Reddy has made it to the squad for the second four-day match against Australia A. He has played seven Tests and can play an important role as an all-rounder. India ranks third on the World Test Championship charts This two-match series between India and the West Indies is part of the World Test Championship (WTC). Currently, India ranks in third position on the points table. The team recently drew the five-match Test series against England 2-2. Meanwhile, the West Indies is in sixth position after losing all three matches played so far.