3 clear indications from India's squad for the West Indies Tests ft. Karun Nair's future

The BCCI recently announced India's squad for the upcoming two-Test series against the West Indies. Shubman Gill and Co. are on the back of a hugely entertaining Test series against England and need points to further their case in the ongoing World Test Championship.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed the media following the squad announcement. He indicated that pacer Akash Deep and batter Sarfaraz Khan missed out due to injuries and also shed light on the selection committee's thought process going forward.

India's squad for the Test series vs West Indies: Shubman Gill (c), Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), N. Jagadeesan (wk), Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

On that note, here are three clear indications from India's squad for the West Indies Test series.

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#3 This might be the end of the road for Karun Nair

England v India - 5th Rothesay Test Match: Day One - Source: Getty

Agarkar mentioned that the think tank expected more from Karun Nair in England, and that's a fair statement. The veteran batter's comeback didn't go to plan as he crossed the half-century mark just once in the four Tests he played.

Karun has piled on the runs in domestic cricket, but India have virtually no reason to stick with an ageing batter who doesn't offer a secondary skill. Moving towards younger batters with higher upsides seems natural for the team, especially in home Test series.

This might be the end of the road for Karun. He did extremely well to return to the side, but his performances in England didn't inspire a great deal of confidence.

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#2 India's Test core seems settled during the transition

India Men's Test Squad Training Session - Source: Getty

Following the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, there were several doubts over the ideal personnel India would employ during the transition. But after a fairly successful tour of England, most of those questions were answered - and that has reflected in the squad announcement for the West Indies series.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill and Devdutt Padikkal form an enviable young batting core, with Washington Sundar capable of taking up a spot in the top five as well. Sundar's emergence as a bowler has also reduced the impact of Ashwin's departure.

In the bowling department, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna came up with spirited displays in England. Nitish Reddy remains a useful option in both departments, and there's enough evidence to suggest that Dhruv Jurel will be able to play as a specialist batter once Rishabh Pant returns.

Apart from the pace department and one other area, most roles are filled by up-and-coming players who have at least a decade of top-level cricket ahead of them. Speaking of that one other area...

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#1 India clearly don't have solid backup opener options

England v India - 4th Rothesay Test Match: Day Four - Source: Getty

Agarkar explained the reasons behind Abhimanyu Easwaran's omission and stated that N Jagadeesan can be deployed as an opener if necessary. However, it's clear to see that India have no real opener backups in the squad, and in the wings as well.

As things currently stand, KL Rahul and Jaiswal will be supported by the top-order duo of Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan. Both left-handers are more suited to No. 3 and No. 4, leaving the pecking order questionable against the new ball.

There are a few batters who've done well in the Ranji Trophy, but none of them are in the India A mix right now. With Rahul being on the wrong side of 30 and Jaiswal playing a lot of cricket, India will need to evaluate who are the frontline names who will step in during an emergency.