India’s Tour of West Indies: Jaiswal, Ruturaj and Mukesh get their maiden Test call-up

Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav have been dropped from India’s Test squad for the West Indies series Mohammed Shami has been rested for the Tests and ODIs in the Caribbean. Top-order batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad and medium-pacer Mukesh Kumar have earned their maiden call-up for the Test series that marks the beginning of India’s new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav have been dropped from India’s Test squad for the West Indies series while pace spearhead Mohammed Shami has been rested for the Tests and ODIs in the Caribbean.

Top-order batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad and medium-pacer Mukesh Kumar have earned their maiden call-up for the Test series that marks the beginning of India’s new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.

The four-member national selection panel, with interim chief selector Shiv Sundar Das, finalised the squads for the two Tests and three ODIs in the West Indies starting on July 12, during its meeting on Thursday.

Announcing the teams on Friday, BCCI secretary Jay Shah stated that the squad for the five-T20Is in the West Indies in August will be announced “later”, but the statement did not offer any explanation on the changes.

The Hindu understands that the selection committee, in consultation with the team management, decided to “move on” from Pujara and Umesh in the aftermath of India’s second successive WTC final loss.

Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who along with Virat Kohli have consistently been unable to pile on the big runs in the middle order for most of the last three years, had been dropped from India’s squad for the Test series versus Sri Lanka last year.

Since then, not only was Pujara recalled since the one-off Test in England last July but had also been promoted as the vice-captain recently.