NEW DELHI: India will head into the two-Test series against the West Indies without Rishabh Pant, as the wicketkeeper-batter continues to recover from a foot injury.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed Pant's unavailability while announcing the squad. In his absence, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja - fresh off a strong showing in England - has been handed the role of vice-captain.
"Rishabh is the vice-captain at the moment and a key player, but unfortunately, he hasn't quite recovered to make this particular Test series. We're hopeful that he'll be available for South Africa," Agarkar said.
The all-rounder had an impressive outing in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, amassing 516 runs and claiming seven wickets in five Tests, finishing as the tournament's fourth-highest run-scorer.
"Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) has been one of your top performers. With a lot of experience, that's essentially the reason (he was made vice-captain)," Agarkar explained.
Before his injury, Pant was in outstanding form, finishing as the sixth-highest run-getter of the series with 479 runs in four Tests. He averaged 68.42 at a strike rate of 77.63, registering three half-centuries and two hundreds.
His campaign, however, was abruptly halted in Manchester when a searing yorker from Chris Woakes struck his right foot in the 68th over of the first day of the fourth Test. Despite the fracture, Pant showed remarkable courage by returning to the crease and contributing crucial runs that helped India post a total of 358.
On Pant's recovery timeline, Agarkar added, "With regards to Rishabh, I don't think he's quite made this series. He won't be ready, but like I said, we're hopeful that by the time South Africa comes around, he's 100% fit. Exact timelines... I know he's not going to make these two Test matches, but after that, he's very close to getting fit."
India squad: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, N Jagadeesan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav.
