5 players who were unlucky to miss out on India's squad for West Indies Tests

The BCCI recently announced the Indian squad for the two-match Test series against West Indies which begins on October 4 in Rajkot.

Mayank Agarwal finally made it into the squad on the back of some fantastic performances in the domestic circuit. Mohammed Siraj too was rewarded with a call-up after some fine bowling performances for Hyderabad and India A.

India's squad: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.

However, there were a few players who missed out on the squad despite playing well in the domestic circuit.

So, let’s take a look at 5 players who missed out on India’s squad for the West Indies Tests

#5 Karun Nair

The middle-order batsman from Karnataka was included in the squad for the tour to England, however, he did not play a single match throughout the tournament. Hanuma Vihari, who made it into the squad for the final two Tests, got to play instead of Nair.

He would have expected to have gotten another chance against Windies in the upcoming series but the selectors made quite a shocking decision not to include him, since he has not been given a chance to prove himself.

For now, he will continue to play for Karnataka in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy and hope to make it into India’s squad for the all-important tour to Australia later this year.

#4 Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay

Until the tour to England, Murali Vijay’s place in the side as an opener was cemented. However, due to a disastrous outing in England, he was dropped after the 3rd Test itself.

Shortly after the tour to England, Vijay went back there to play for Essex. He has been performing quite well, scoring a century in his first innings and following that up with three consecutive half-centuries.

He would have hoped to get back into the side for the West Indies Tests. Unfortunately, the selectors decided against picking him in the squad.

#3 Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Patel

The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman last played a Test for India earlier this year against South Africa. Once Wriddhiman Saha was injured, he would have hoped to make it into the squad for the tour to England. However, the selectors went with Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant instead.

Now, despite Karthik being dropped, Parthiv has still not been included in the squad. This means that India are going into the series against Windies with just one specialist keeper in the form of Pant.

#2 Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal

The 28-year-old leggie has made a mark for himself in the limited-overs format so far. However, he has not yet got a chance to prove himself in Tests.

The Windies series would have been a perfect opportunity for him. The selectors could have opted to rest Ashwin since he just recovered from an injury and give Chahal a chance instead.

He will hope to make his Test debut soon.

#1 Navdeep Saini

Navdeep Saini

The 25-year-old pacer was included in the squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan a few months ago but did not get to play the match.

He was left out of the squad for the tour to England since Shami made a comeback. However, with India resting both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, they should have opted to go with Saini in the squad along with Mohammed Siraj.