India’s frontline pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named in India’s Test squad for the home series against the West Indies on Thursday, while Devdutt Padikkal has made it in the place of Karun Nair, who fell short of expectations in the previous Test series against England.

Announcing a 15-member squad here, Chairman of Selectors Ajit Agarkar said Bumrah is well-rested and good to go in the series, which will begin in Ahmedabad on October 2. “This is a team for both the Test matches. So, he’s available for both. We’ve had a fair break after England. He didn’t play the fifth Test either. There’s been a month or five weeks of break. Moreover, this tournament has been fairly spaced out till this last week,” Agarkar explained.

With the injured Rishabh Pant also not in the squad, Ravindra Jadeja has been elevated as vice-captain for the West Indies series. Stylish Karnataka left-handed batsman Padikkal, 25, is being seen as a long-term prospect, along with 23-year-old Sai Sudharsan at the No. 3 slot.

Speaking about Nair, Agarkar said he did not make full use of the opportunities and scored one fifty in eight innings during the England tour. “We feel Padikkal offers a little bit more at this point and I wish we could give everyone 15 or 20 Tests. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way,” he said.

“Frankly, we expected a bit more from Karun in England. Padikkal’s been in the Test squad in Australia, played in Dharamsala against England, got a 50 there. He’s shown some decent form,” he added.

Asked why Sudharsan made the cut when he and Nair had performed similarly in England, Agarkar said, “Eventually, it’s a little bit about continuity. There were a few changes at No.3 because of the combination that we played. But going forward, Sai has shown a lot of promise. We know he’s a very good player. Hopefully, we can give him a longish run from now on, at a particular number.”

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Easwaran, a frequent member of the squad for the last three to four years but never a part of the playing team, is also out of the picture.

“Normally, when you travel abroad, you carry 16 or 17, you take a third opener. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal haven’t done too badly. At the moment, we don’t need a third opener just sitting out in the squad,” Agarkar said.

The selectors felt that Axar Patel as an all-rounder is a better choice. “You get an extra spinner all-rounder in Axar Patel who wasn’t part of the squad to England and we’ve only picked 15 here,” said Agarkar, adding that Pant would not be available before the South Africa Tests.

On the status of pacer Mohammed Shami, Agarkar said he is unaware of how fit he is “He’s played a couple of matches. But he’s not had a lot of cricket. In the last two-three years, I think he’s played one match for Bengal and one match in the Duleep Trophy,” he said.

Squad: Shubman Gill (C), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, N Jagadeesan (WK), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav.