The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced Team India’s squad for the upcoming two-match home Test series against the West Indies. Shubman Gill will be leading the side for the first time in the longest format, while the vice-captaincy has been handed to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the absence of Rishabh Pant, who continues to recover from injury.

The selectors have made some bold calls, leaving out five players—Karun Nair, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Akashdeep, Shardul Thakur, and Anshul Kamboj. Karun Nair and Sai Sudarshan, in particular, were under scrutiny for their poor run in the England series, where they managed only one half-century across four Tests. On the brighter side, Devdutt Padikkal and Axar Patel have earned their way back into the squad, while Sarfaraz Khan remains on the sidelines once again.

The squad for the series includes Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudarshan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, and Narayan Jagadeesan.

The India-West Indies Test series begins on October 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, followed by the second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi starting October 10. West Indies coach Darren Sammy has already raised the stakes by remarking that if New Zealand could beat India at home, his side would also aim to pull off an upset.

The West Indies have announced their squad under the leadership of Roston Chase, with key players including Shai Hope, John Campbell, Alzarri Joseph, Shemar Joseph, and Jayden Seales.

Historically, India and the West Indies have played 100 Tests, with the Caribbean side winning 30 and India securing 23 victories, while 47 matches have ended in draws. Yet, recent history has tilted strongly in India’s favor—Team India has won nine consecutive Test series against the West Indies since 2002 and even completed clean sweeps in three of the last five series.