The BCCI on Friday announced a 16-man Test squad for the upcoming 2-match series against West Indies, starting July 12. The board has made some surprising selections, handing maiden call-ups to the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad and while Navdeep Saini has been recalled. But what has caught everyone’s attention is the omission of Cheteshwar Pujara, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.
All three of them recently featured in the playing XI for the WTC Final against Australia which India lost by 209 runs. According to ESPN Cricinfo, Pujara and Umesh have faced the axe while Shami has been rested. However, the board is yet to say on these lines.
Meanwhile, the netizens were divided on Pujara’s omission from the West Indies Tests. While some questioned the absence of the veteran Indian batter, others are seeing this exclusion as the end of his Test career. Here’s how they reacted.
pujara dropped— अल्हड़ बालक (@haryanvi008) June 23, 2023
Finally pujara out https://t.co/VJPi6q19zy— Himanshu Jain (@jain_himanshu__) June 23, 2023
No more stress of wanting Pujara to score Also he’s already played 100 tests now— Udit (@udit_buch) June 23, 2023
Bye bye Pujara…You had a great career for some time..Again proved it’s hard to replace the players Sachin, Dravid, Lakshman in test matches https://t.co/g58gLvLqeV
— Naaku Teliyadhu Ra (@naakuteliyadhu) June 23, 2023
Dropped from test squad vs WI. Could be the curtains! Farewell my hero! Last of his kind #TeamIndia could never see again. India’s dominance over Aus in tests over the last decade cannot be attributed to anyone else more than to #Pujara.— Harikishan (@itzzmeHK) June 23, 2023
Pujara dropped ✍️Rahane Vice Capt.Call up for Jaiswal and Ruturaj https://t.co/1bEqxXAjiy— Gully Cricketer (@KricketerGully) June 23, 2023
Had to take some brave steps after wtc final loss. The big moves: drop pujara and Umesh yadav— Avneet Anand (@AvneetAnand9) June 23, 2023
A little bit sad for Pujara’s exclusion from West Indies Tests. He has a good record for no.3. He gives ultimate strength to the team. #CheteshwarPujara #WIvsIND #BCCI— Pranav Mahajan (@_cricketpranav) June 23, 2023
India will also play three ODIs against the West Indies after the Test series for which a 17-member team under Rohit was announced the BCCI selectors.
For the three-match ODI series which follows the Test series, Ruturaj and Mukesh will also be a part of the squad, with Sanju Samson joining in as second wicketkeeper-batter option. India are also scheduled to play five T20Is and the squad for the same will be announced later.
Windsor Park in Dominica will host the first Test match from July 12-16, followed by the second Test to be played from July 20-24 at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. The second Test will also mark the 100th Test match played between India and West Indies.
The first two ODIs will happen at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on July 27 and 29. The third ODI will happen on August 1 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad, who will be hosting a West Indies men’s ODI for the first time.
India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
India’s ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.
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