India drop Nair for Test series against West Indies

NEW DELHI - Batsman Karun Nair was dropped Thursday from India's squad for next month's home Test series against the West Indies while Rishabh Pant is still injured.

Nair, 33, scored just 205 runs in four Tests in the recent drawn series in England, with one half-century, and loses his place to up-and-coming Devdutt Padikkal.

"We expected more from Karun Nair. Can't be just one innings. Padikkal offers more," chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said in Mumbai.

Flamboyant wicketkeeper-batsman Pant misses the series as he continues to recover from a foot fracture sustained at Old Trafford in July.

In his absence, the mantle of vice-captaincy was handed over to Ravindra Jadeja, who enjoyed a prolific series in England, scoring 516 runs at an average of 86.

Star paceman Jasprit Bumrah also features in a 15-member squad led by Shubman Gill, despite concerns over his workload.

Bumrah, 31, played in only three of the five Tests in England after being laid low by a back injury earlier in the year.

Nitish Reddy, who suffered a knee injury on the England tour, was also named in the squad.

The two Tests against the West Indies will be played in Ahmedabad and New Delhi, with the first starting on 2 October.

Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, Axar Patel, N. Jagadeesan.