India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will not feature in the upcoming two-Test home series against West Indies, starting October 2 in Ahmedabad.
The selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, will meet on September 24 to finalize the 15-member squad—two fewer than the one picked for the New Zealand series last October.
Pant’s Injury and Recovery
Pant, India’s vice-captain in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy earlier this year, fractured his left foot during the Manchester Test. Although he briefly batted through pain in the first innings, he was later replaced by N Jagadeesan for the final match at The Oval.
Currently undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, Pant is focusing on strength and conditioning. A clear return timeline has not been set.
“𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒆𝒕,” 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝑪𝑪𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅.
India will play a white-ball series in Australia starting October 19, shortly after the West Indies Tests.
Likely Replacements and Squad Options
With Pant sidelined, Dhruv Jurel is expected to take over wicketkeeping duties. Jurel impressed during the final two Tests of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and is currently playing against Australia A in Lucknow. Jagadeesan may serve as the backup option if selectors decide to include a second wicketkeeper.
Selectors are also considering Devdutt Padikkal and Nitish Kumar Reddy for inclusion. Padikkal recently scored 150 for India A against Australia A, while Reddy is returning from a knee injury sustained in England. Both are named in the second four-day India A game starting Tuesday.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒅,” 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅.
WTC Context
The India-West Indies series is part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. India currently sit third in the table after a 2-2 draw against England, while West Indies are placed sixth with three defeats in as many games.
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