‘We’re hopeful by the time South Africa tours, Rishabh is 100 pc fit’: Chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Pant missing West Indies series

NEW DELHI: India will be without Rishabh Pant for the upcoming Test series against the West Indies, with chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirming that the wicketkeeper-batter has not fully recovered from his foot injury. Ravindra Jadeja, who was one of India’s standout performers in England, has been named vice-captain for the series.

“Rishabh is the vice-captain at the moment and a key player, but unfortunately, he hasn’t quite recovered to make this particular Test series. We’re hopeful that he’ll be available for South Africa,” Agarkar said.

Jadeja has been appointed as the deputy of Shubman Gill. Jadeja has scored 516 runs and picked up seven wickets in five Tests, finishing as the fourth-highest run-getter of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

“Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) has been one of your top performers. With a lot of experience, that’s essentially the reason (he was made vice-captain),” Agarkar explained.

Pant, meanwhile, had also been in sublime touch before injury struck. The southpaw finished as the sixth-highest scorer in the series with 479 runs in four Tests, averaging 68.42 at a strike rate of 77.63, with three fifties and two centuries.

Pant’s campaign was cut short after he sustained a brutal blow on his right foot in Manchester. A toe-crushing yorker from England pacer Chris Woakes forced him off the field in the 68th over of the opening day of the fourth Test. Displaying immense grit, Pant returned to bat despite a broken foot and added valuable runs to propel India to 358.

On Pant’s recovery timeline, Agarkar added, “With regards to Rishabh, I don’t think he’s quite made this series. He won’t be ready, but like I said, we’re hopeful that by the time South Africa comes around, he’s 100% fit. Exact timelines… I know he’s not going to make these two Test matches, but after that, he’s very close to getting fit.”

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