WI Tests: Dhawan axed, Agarwal in

NEW DELHI: India’s cricket selectors axed opener Shikhar Dhawan from the squad for the two-test series against West Indies after the batsman scored just 160 runs at an average of 20.25 in the recent 1-4 series defeat in England. His omission meant a likely debut for teenager Prithvi Shaw as KL Rahul’s partner in the build-up to the Australia tour at the year end.

Prolific Karnataka batsman Mayank Agarwal and pacer Mohammed Siraj are the other uncapped players in the squad, while batsman Karun Nair has been axed without getting a game in England. Off-spinner R Ashwin has been picked after clearing a fitness test for a groin problem but pace spearhead Ishant Sharma (ankle) and all-rounder Hardik Pandya (back) are out due to injuries, BCCI said in a statement.

Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar -- he missed the England Tests due to a back problem -- have been rested to manage their workload while chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav has been recalled. The Tests will be played in Rajkot (Oct 4-8) and Hyderabad (Oct 12-16).

Squad: V Kohli (capt), KL Rahul, P Shaw, C Pujara, M Agarwal, A Rahane (vicecapt), H Vihari, R Pant (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, K Yadav, M Shami, U Yadav, M Siraj, S Thakur.

JADHAV INJURED

One-day all-rounder Kedar Jadhav suffered a fresh injury setback – suspected right hamstring tear – during Friday’s Asia Cup final win over Bangladesh. He was recalled after recovering from a left hamstring tear, which sidelined him for three months. He went off while batting on Friday but returned to score the winning run off the last ball. In a radical departure from tradition for a cricket team, Australia have appointed two vice-captains, a move that is in part both succession planning and equal opportunity.

Mitch Marsh, who will fulfil the solo role against Pakistan in the UAE has been appointed with an eye on the future. If Josh Hazlewood is deemed fit for the Test series against India later in the year, he’ll take his place alongside Marsh in acknowledgement that bowlers are the forgotten men when it comes to leadership roles. I doubt this unique move will help Australia much but neither will it hinder.

Justin Langer’s novel approach to the leadership issue stems from discussions with Australian

POLES APART

On the field I discovered early in the role that your advice isn’t necessarily acted upon. In my debut as vice-captain at the SCG in 1968-69, Australia had the West Indies eight wickets down in the first innings and they were still more than 350 in arrears. Captain

RAHANE A GOOD DEPUTY

In contrast to Australia’s recent