The Indian team is going through a transition phase and India and West Indies are set to face each other in a two-match Test series. Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped and a few pacers have been rested for the upcoming matches in the Caribbean. In preparation for the Windies Test, India captain Rohit Sharma has reportedly revealed his opening partner.
New opening pair of Indian test cricket.
It’s Rohit Sharma & Yashasvi Jaiswal. pic.twitter.com/abstSjSSkm– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) 11 July 2023
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Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been called into the team after Pujara’s exclusion. Jaiswal has had a stellar domestic season and has put in impressive performances in IPL 2023, which has made him a contender for the national team. While Jaiswal was seen as a possible replacement for Pujara, Sharma confirmed that opener Shubman Gill will bat at No.3 for the upcoming Test. Although Jaiswal will make his debut for India, Gill’s role in the team has become clear.
“Gill will play at No.3 because Gill himself wants to play at No.3. He discussed with Rahul (Dravid) that I have played all my cricket at No.3 and 4. I feel if I bat at No.3 I will Can do better for my team. No. 3. And it’s good for us as well because it becomes the opening combination of left and right,” Rohit said on the eve of the first Test.
“So I think we will try to do that and hopefully it will go on for a long time. Because we have been looking for a left-hander for many years. So now that we have found that left-hander , so let’s hope he does well.” Good for the team. And he (Jaiswal) can really make the place his own,” he said.
Furthermore, Sharma said that the Indian team will field two spinners in the first Test against the West Indies. However, the specific names of the spinners are yet to be confirmed. India has three spinners in the team: Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Akshar Patel. Usually, Patel operates as the third spinner behind Ashwin and Jadeja, so it is likely that both Ashwin and Jadeja will play, leaving Patel on the sidelines.
The Indian team will embark on an all-format tour of the Caribbean and Florida. The tour lasts for a month and consists of two Test matches, followed by three ODIs and five T20Is. The first Test will begin on July 12 at Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica, while the second Test will begin on July 20 at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The ODI series will begin on July 27, with Barbados and Trinidad hosting three matches. The young players of the Indian team will take to the field for five T20Is starting August 3 in Guyana, before concluding the series with matches in Florida.
India’s probable XI for the first Test against the West Indies
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat/Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj
Full team of India: Rohit Sharma (Capt), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.