Jadeja Named Vice-Captain; Padikkal and Jagadeesan Included in India’s Test Squad

Jadeja Named Vice-Captain; Padikkal and Jagadeesan Included in India’s Test Squad

Ravindra Jadeja has been named vice-captain of India’s Test team for the upcoming two-match series against West Indies in October. It’s his first time in this role in Tests, although he’s been the vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is before.

Shubman Gill will lead the team for the second time, having first captained India in the England series earlier this year. Rishabh Pant, who was the vice-captain in England, is still recovering from a foot injury and hasn’t been picked. He’s currently undergoing rehab at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

Dhruv Jurel and N Jagadeesan are the two wicketkeepers in the squad, with Jurel expected to be the first choice.

Jasprit Bumrah is also part of the squad, even though there’s only a one-day gap between the Asia Cup final on September 28 and the first Test on October 2 in Ahmedabad. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed that Bumrah is fit and ready to play both Tests.

Several players from the England tour have missed out this time, including Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Arshdeep Singh, and Shardul Thakur. Abhimanyu, Akash Deep, and Kamboj will play in the Irani Cup against Vidarbha starting October 1. Akash Deep is recovering from a minor injury.

New additions to the squad include Axar Patel, Devdutt Padikkal, and Jagadeesan. Padikkal was praised by Agarkar for his recent form and past performances, including a fifty against England in Dharamsala. On Karun Nair’s exclusion, Agarkar said, “We expected more from Karun. Padikkal offers a bit more at this point.”

Sarfaraz Khan, another contender for the squad, is currently injured.

India’s spin attack will be strong, with Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav. Nitish Kumar Reddy is the fast-bowling allrounder, while Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna will lead the pace department.

The two Tests October 2 in Ahmedabad and October 10 in Delhi are part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for 2025–27. India started their campaign with a 2-2 draw in England and currently sit third on the WTC table with 46.67 percentage points. Australia and Sri Lanka are ahead, while the West Indies are yet to earn a point after losing three Tests to Australia earlier this year.

India's squad for West Indies Tests

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill (C), B Sai Sudharsan, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, N Jagadeesan (wk)