Dhawan dropped for West Indies Test series

Shikhar Dhawan exploits in the recently held Asia Cup could not help him secure his place in the Test side against West Indies. He has been dropped owing to his struggles with the red ball in England even as Karnataka opener Mayank Agarwal and right-arm fast bowler Mohammed Siraj are the new faces that will feature in the 15-member Indian squad, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Saturday.

The 32-year-old opener could only manage 162 runs in eight innings with a highest of 44, and was severely criticised for the lack of temperament when the going got tough in swinging conditions.

Meanwhile, Agarwal and Siraj have been rewarded for the good form in the domestic circuit.

Pace spearhead Jaspreet Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been rested for the upcoming series. “Taking stock of the recent workload, the selectors have decided to rest Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar,” the BCCI said in a statement.

“Both Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya were not considered for selection as they are yet to recover from their injuries,” it added. Pandya sustained an acute back injury during the group league encounter against Pakistan whereas Ishant had suffered ankle injury in the fourth day of the fifth Test match against England.

The first Test will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot between 4 and 9 October followed by the second one at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad from 12 October.