Rishabh Pant will not play the two-match West Indies Test series that begins in Ahmedabad on 2 October. The 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batter fractured his left foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester and remains in rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru.
“He’s still gaining strength in that foot; batting and keeping drills will have to wait,” a member of the board’s medical staff said on Monday. There is no formal return date, and the white-ball trip to Australia later in October looks equally doubtful for him.
Selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, meet on 24 September to finalise a 15-man squad—two fewer than the group chosen for last year’s home Tests against New Zealand. With Pant out, Dhruv Jurel is expected to take the gloves. Jurel kept in the final two matches of the England series and is currently in Lucknow for India A’s games against Australia A.
N Jagadeesan, who swapped keeping duties with Jurel in that England rubber and opened the batting for India A last week, could be retained as back-up. “Jaggy’s been around the group and understands the routines; it helps in a short series,” one selector noted.
The panel is also weighing recalls for Devdutt Padikkal and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Padikkal pressed his case with 150 for India A in the first four-day match against Australia A, while Reddy—recovering from the knee injury picked up in England—was not risked in that game but remains in the squad for the second fixture starting Tuesday.
Padikkal has two Test caps, the most recent in Perth last summer, and scored 0 and 25 from No. 3 on a lively surface. Reddy owns seven caps and, when fit, offers the option of a seam-bowling all-rounder—useful insurance on the truer Indian pitches scheduled for this series.
India sit third in the current World Test Championship standings after drawing 2-2 in England. West Indies, beaten three times in as many outings, are sixth. The two matches in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad form part of the 2023-25 cycle.
Captain Rohit Sharma, speaking after the Old Trafford draw, summed up Pant’s absence: “You never want to lose a player like Rishabh, but injuries are part and parcel of the game.” Pant himself posted on X earlier this month: “Taking it one day at a time.”
Beyond personnel, the selectors must decide whether to persist with the twin-spinner strategy that served well against New Zealand or add a third quick in case the early-season surfaces carry a bit more grass. There is also interest in whether veteran off-spinner R Ashwin, who sat out the last two England Tests, returns to the XI.
Whatever the balance, India’s immediate need is stability behind the stumps. Jurel impressed with tidy glove work in England, but the scrutiny intensifies at home where edges are fewer and standing up to the seamers is more frequent. His batting—compact rather than flamboyant—will be equally important, particularly if the top order continues its recent habit of promising starts without conversion.
For Pant, the outlook is a waiting game. A board official put it simply: “He’ll play when he’s ready—no sooner, no later.” Given how central he is to India’s middle order, that patience may prove the smartest move of all.
