Rishabh Pant will miss India's upcoming home Test series against the West Indies as he continues to recover from a foot injury. The series is scheduled to begin on October 2, 2025, in Ahmedabad. The second Test will be held in New Delhi starting October 10.
Pant sustained a fractured left foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July 2025. The injury occurred when he was struck by a delivery from England fast bowler Chris Woakes while attempting a reverse sweep. Although Pant returned to bat the next day, scoring 54 runs, he was eventually ruled out of the fifth Test and advised to rest for six weeks.
Currently, Pant is undergoing strength and conditioning at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. He is yet to resume wicket-keeping and batting practice, making his return timeline uncertain. Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector, expressed hope that Pant would regain full fitness in time for the home series against South Africa.
In Pant's absence, Dhruv Jurel is expected to take over the wicket-keeping duties for India in the two-match Test series against the West Indies. N Jagadeesan has also been included in the squad as a back-up wicketkeeper.
The All-India Men’s Selection Committee has announced a 15-member squad for the West Indies series. Shubman Gill will continue to lead the team, and Ravindra Jadeja has been named the vice-captain in Pant's absence.
The selected squad includes: * Shubman Gill (Captain) * Ravindra Jadeja (Vice-Captain) * Yashasvi Jaiswal * KL Rahul * Sai Sudharsan * Devdutt Padikkal * Dhruv Jurel (Wicket-keeper) * N Jagadeesan (Wicket-keeper) * Nitish Kumar Reddy * Washington Sundar * Axar Patel * Kuldeep Yadav * Jasprit Bumrah * Mohammed Siraj * Prasidh Krishna
Karun Nair and Abhimanyu Easwaran have been dropped from the squad. Devdutt Padikkal has been recalled to the team after playing in the home series against England.
The series against the West Indies marks India's first red-ball assignment at home in the new 2025–2027 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. India is currently placed third in the WTC standings.
