MSK Prasad Reveals Why Vijay Shankar Isn't A Part Of Indian Team For West Indies Series

Vijay Shankar was one of the two key players who missed out on a place in the squad for West Indies series. The 28-year-old all-rounder is yet to recover from the feet injury that he had suffered during World Cup, chief selector MSK Prasad said while revealing why he hasn’t been named in any of the squads.

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“Vijay Shankar has still not recovered from his feet injury that’s why he isn’t included in the squads,” MSK Prasad said. Shankar was a part of the World Cup squad but was ruled out after three matches due to a blow that he had suffered against Jasprit Bumrah in nets. He was later replaced by Mayank Agarwal.

For now, there is no timeline regarding his fitness and he might make a comeback for the home series against South Africa.

Apart from Shankar, Hardik Pandya was also not named in the squad. He is also not fully fit and will miss the complete series. Pandya has been struggling with fitness and was expected to be rested.

Meanwhile, there was no surprise in any of the squads named by the selectors. Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer made their comebacks to the limited over squad while Navdeep Saini was a new face.

Apart from him, Rahul Chahar was also handed his maiden T20I call-up. He is already in West Indies as he is playing for India A against the hosts in five-match one-day series.

The absence of Shubman Gill did surprise many. Though Prasad clarified that he is on the waiting list. The right-handed batsman has played two ODIs so far. He had replaced suspended KL Rahul on the tour of New Zealand earlier this year.

India play West Indies in a full-fledged tour next month. Men in Blue will kick off the tour with two T20Is in Florida. The third and final T20I of the series will be played in Guyana.

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The three ODIs will be played in Guyana and Trinidad (last two ODIs in Trinidad). The two Test matches of the tour will be played in Antigua and Jamaica respectively.

Virat Kohli will be leading India across formats. Rohit Sharma will assist him in the limited-over format while Ajinkya Rahane will be his his deputy in the longest format of the game.