Sachin Tendulkar will miss a Test series abroad after a gap of five years. The veteran, who is on the verge of completing 100 international hundreds, has been rested for the tour of the West Indies following a request to spend more time with his family. Tendulkar will return for the full tour of England that commences shortly after the Caribbean tour.
Gautam Gambhir, who was named captain of the one-day and Twenty20 teams, will miss the series on account of the shoulder injury he aggravated during the IPL. In his absence, Suresh Raina will lead the team while off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been named his deputy.
Yuvraj Singh, suffering from a lung infection, will also miss the tour. Manoj Tiwari and Shikar Dhawan have been named as replacements in the limited overs squad.
Tamil Nadu opener Abhinav Mukund and Virat Kohli are the two uncapped players to be named in the Test squad. S. Badrinath, who topped the Ranji Trophy run charts with 922 runs this season, has forced his way back into the team for the first time after the home series against South Africa in February 2010. Parthiv Patel is the reserve wicket-keeper.
The bowling combination remains the same that toured South Africa. The attack comprises four seamers — Zaheer Khan, S. Sreesanth, Munaf Patel and Ishant Sharma. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who had a good run in the IPL for Deccan Chargers, has retained his place along with colleague Pragyan Ojha.
India will play a three-Test series. The last time the two teams met, in 2006-07, India won 1-0 in a four-Test series.