India’s upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies will see several prominent names missing from the squads announced by the BCCI on Wednesday.
While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have returned to the ODI setup, the selection has also highlighted the impact of the 2026 Asian Games and the continued absence of some established players.
The series begins with three ODIs, followed by five T20Is. The ODI leg will be played in Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati and New Chandigarh from 27 September to 3 October, while the T20Is will take place from 6 to 17 October.
Hardik Pandya (will miss both ODIs and T20Is)
Hardik Pandya is one of the biggest absentees from both West Indies squads. The all-rounder has not been picked despite being scheduled to return to competitive cricket later this month.
Pandya has instead been selected for India A’s three-match one-day series against Australia A in Puducherry, beginning 6 October. According to reports, the selectors want him to demonstrate that he can handle the workload required of an ODI all-rounder, including bowling 10 overs, before considering him for the senior side.
His absence from the ODI squad has led to Nitish Kumar Reddy being moved from India’s Asian Games squad to the ODI squad for the series against West Indies.
Rishabh Pant (will miss both ODIs and T20Is)
Rishabh Pant is another major name missing from both white-ball squads. The wicketkeeper-batter has instead been named captain of the Rest of India side for the Irani Cup against Ranji Trophy champions Jammu & Kashmir.
Pant’s omission means KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel are the wicketkeeping options in the ODI squad, while Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson have been selected as the wicketkeepers for the T20I side.
Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel (ODI series)
Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel are absent from the ODI squad due to India’s commitments at the Asian Games in Japan, with the Games campaign beginning on 28 September.
Iyer, who is India’s T20I captain, will thus not miss the T20I series against the West Indies, which will begin after the Asian Games. Patel is also part of the India T20I squad for the West Indies series.
Jasprit Bumrah (will miss ODIs and T20Is vs WI)
Like Pandya and Pant, Jasprit Bumrah will miss both the ODI and T20I series against the West Indies. He is part of India’s Asian Games 2026 squad and will play a pivotal part in that tournament.
Ishan Kishan (ODI series)
Ishan Kishan is another regular white-ball player who will not feature in the ODIs. He is part of India’s Asian Games squad and has been selected for the West Indies T20Is.
His presence in the T20I team gives India another wicketkeeping option alongside Samson, but his absence from the ODI squad has contributed to the selection of Jurel.
With several established players unavailable for the ODI leg, selectors have handed maiden ODI call-ups to Naman Dhir and Jammu & Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi. Ravindra Jadeja has also returned to the ODI setup, while Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal are among the other notable inclusions.
Overall, the West Indies series will feature a noticeably different Indian combination across the two formats, with the Asian Games accounting for several major absences and Pant and Pandya remaining outside both squads.
India ODI squad vs West Indies: Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir
India T20I squad vs West Indies: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav
India squad for T20I vs Japan and Asian Games 2026: Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Vipraj Nigam, Axar Patel, Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Washington Sundar, Yash Thakur