New Delhi: India will take on West Indies in the 1st Test match of the 2 matches series at the Windsor Park, Roseau in Dominca. India will look to start fresh after the embarrassing defeat in the World Test Championship (WTC) against Australia.
For the Test series against West Indies, Indian team has send the best possible squad mixture of young and experienced players. Indian cricket team captain Captain Rohit Sharma has said that India would be unveiling a fresh opening partnership for the upcoming Test series against West Indies starting today.
Jaiswal to open with Rohit
The 21-year-old left-hand batter, Yashasvi Jaiswal, will open the innings alongside captain Rohit Sharma. Playing for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Jaiswal impressed the selector with his white ball performance. He accumulated 625 runs. Jaiswal also scored fastest 50 of IPL 2023, boasting an average of 48 and a remarkable strike rate of 163.61.
Jaiswal extraordinary performance in Duleep Trophy
In red-ball cricket also the left-hander left no stone to stun the selector. His extraordinary feat of scoring 265 runs in the second innings of the Duleep Trophy Final last year, coupled with an average of over 80 in his initial 26 First-Class innings, further confirmed his selection.
Meanwhile, another young sensation Shubman Gill will take up the no.3 spot of classic Cheteshwar Pujara, who was not included in the touring squad.
Gill to bat at No.3
“Gill will play at number 3 because Gill himself wants to play at number 3. He discussed with Rahul (Dravid) that I have played all my cricket at 3 and 4. I think I can do better for my team if I bat at number 3. And it is good for us too because it becomes an opening combination of left and right,” Rohit was quoted as saying by the ICC.
“So I think we will try to do this and hopefully this will go on for a long time. Because we have been looking for a left-hander for many years. So now that we have got that left-hander, let’s hope he performs well for the team. And he can really make that spot his own,” he added.
Solid support for @ybj_19 and the youngsters in the squad 👏 👏@ShubmanGill to bat at No. 3 👍 👍
🎥 Snippets from #TeamIndia Captain @ImRo45's press conference ahead of the first #WIvIND Test 🔽 pic.twitter.com/idDJwh6Fn5
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 11, 2023
Rohit confirmed that the team will go with two spin combination, but he did not name them. With three spinners a part of the squad, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are likely to feature in the XI ahead of Axar Patel.
