After an underwhelming comeback during the Test series in England, Karun Nair was left out of India’s squad for the upcoming home series against West Indies. India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the 15-member squad on September 25 for the two-match Test series against West Indies. Among the most notable omissions was veteran batter Karun Nair, who had returned to the Test side earlier this year after an eight-year absence. However, his unimpressive performances in England meant he could not retain his place. Devdutt Padikkal has been drafted in as his replacement.
Nair Exclusion
When questioned about Nair’s exclusion, Agarkar explained the reasoning behind the decision. “We expected more from Karun Nair. It can’t be just one innings. Padikkal offers more. We would like to give 15-20 chances to everyone, but it is not possible in these circumstances,” said Agarkar during a press conference in Dubai.
On the England tour, Nair featured in four Tests and scored 205 runs with an average of 25.62. He batted across different positions, including at number three, but managed only a solitary half-century. That fifty came at Kennington Oval in London during the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. In 10 career Test matches, Nair has accumulated 579 runs at an average of 41.35. A large portion of those runs came from his iconic unbeaten 303. If that innings is excluded, he has registered only 276 runs across 14 innings. With his omission from the Test side, it seems the selectors have moved on. It has also been confirmed that he will not play the Irani Cup this season, having left Vidarbha to return to his former domestic team Karnataka.
Other Inclusions
Meanwhile, Devdutt Padikkal has been rewarded for his recent form. In the Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal, he produced scores of 57 and an unbeaten 16 for South Zone against North Zone. He followed that up with a dominant 150 for India A against Australia A in the ongoing unofficial Test series, although he fell cheaply for just one run in the opening innings of the second unofficial Test.
Padikkal had previously made his Test debut against England last year during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. From three innings so far, he has tallied 90 runs which includes a fifty.
India’s squad for the West Indies Tests is as follows: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain), Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Narayan Jagadeesan (wicketkeeper), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Kuldeep Yadav
