BCCI recently announced the Indian Team for the ODI & Test series against West Indies. After the dismal loss in the WTC Final, a few changes were going to happen in the Test squad. In that regard, it appears that the doors may have been closed on Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav. Similarly, we could expect some more hard decisions to be taken after the conclusion of the Test series. On that note, here, we take a look at three Indian players who could be dropped if they fail in the West Indies Test series. Before that, here is a look at the Test squad:
Indian Test Squad: Rohit Sharma (Capt), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), KS Bharat (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat and Navdeep Saini.
1) Navdeep Saini
Navdeep Saini is not getting chances but still keeps finding a way back into the Test Team. However, if he does get a chance in this series and he does not perform well, the selectors could move on. There are the likes of Jasprit Bumrah who will return from injury. Prasidh Krishna might enter the fray after getting fit. Hence, Saini will be wanting to do well.
2) KS Bharat
KS Bharat is one of the Indian players who could be dropped if they fail in the West Indies Test series. He has been Rishabh Pant’s backup for a while and after Pant’s accident, he is India’s first-choice keeper. However, he has not played one good inning with the bat till now. This will hamper his chances going forward, especially if he fails against West Indies, which is considered a slightly weaker Test squad. While the return of Rishabh Pant is on the cards in a few months, India could also try out Ishan Kishan.
3) Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane returned in style to Team India with a solid show in the WTC Finals. Although he was out of the Indian Team for a while, he is now the vice-captain of the squad. That said, if he does not step up with the bat, he might as well lose his spot. This is because the likes of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer could be back for the next series. Rahane will therefore be under pressure to do well against West Indies.
