India's Test squad against West Indies announced: Zaheer Khan overlooked, Ravindra Jadeja rested

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been rested due to shoulder strain

In the 15-man Indian squad announced today for the upcoming 2-match Test series against West Indies, Ravindra Jadeja has been rested due to a shoulder strain and has been advised a two weeks’ rest after the ongoing ODI series against Australia.

In the squad that played the last two Tests against Australia earlier this year, Jadeja, Ashok Dinda and Harbhajan Singh have been replaced by Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Rohit Sharma and Amit Mishra.

Experienced pacer Zaheer Khan, who was a fan favourite to return to the squad following some notable performances against West Indies A and in Ranji Trophy, has been overlooked by the selectors for now.

Despite looking fit and having found rhythm in some recent matches he has played, selectors have chosen to apply a wait-and-watch policy for the left-armer, and how he shapes up in the Ranji Trophy for the next month or so may decide whether or not he boards the flight to South Africa in December this year.

Umesh Yadav wasn’t included in the ODI squad against Australia after some insipid performances in domestic cricket, but has been included in the squad, reflecting selectors’ mood of keeping him in the Test frame.

Rohit Sharma’s experiment at the top of the order has proved successful so far for Team India, and the Mumbai lad has been in fine nick recently, leading to his return to the Test squad. He is yet to make his Test debut.

Mohammed Shami’s exploits in the 4th ODI of the ongoing series against Australia seem to have impressed selectors enough to include the pacer in the squad ahead of Dinda, who hasn’t played much since IPL this year.

The first Test will be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata from November 6-10, while the 2nd match is scheduled to be held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from November 14-18.

This series will be Sachin Tendulkar’s last international assignment and the Master Blaster will be hanging his boots after the Test in his hometown Mumbai, which will also be his 200th Test match, a world record.

India: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha.