India and West Indies are poised to face each other in a two-match Test series, with the Indian team undergoing a transition. Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped, and a few fast bowlers have been rested for the upcoming matches in the Caribbean. In preparation for the Windies Tests, 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) July 11, 2023

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Following Pujara’s exclusion, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been called up to the squad. Jaiswal had an outstanding domestic season and performed brilliantly in the IPL 2023, which propelled him into contention for the national team. While Jaiswal was seen as a potential replacement for Pujara, Sharma confirmed that Shubman Gill, the opening batsman, would be batting at No. 3 for the upcoming Tests. Although Jaiswal will be making his debut for India, Gill’s role in the team has been clarified.

“Gill will play at No.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,” said Rohit on the eve of the first Test. 

“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 (Jaiswal) can really make that spot his own,” he added. 

Furthermore, Sharma stated that the Indian team would field two spinners in the first Test against the West Indies. However, the specific names of the spinners have not been confirmed yet. India has three spinners in their squad: Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel. Typically, Patel serves as the third spinner after 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 spans a month and includes two Test matches, followed by three ODIs and five T20Is. The first Test will commence on July 12 at Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica, while the second Test will take place from July 20 at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The ODI series will begin on July 27, with Barbados and Trinidad hosting the three matches. The Indian team’s young guns will take the field for the five T20Is starting on August 3 in Guyana, before concluding the series with matches in Florida.

India’s Predicted XI For 1st Test vs 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

India’s Full Squad: 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.