India vs West Indies 1st Test Possible 11: Yashasvi Jaiswal to open with Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan also set for Test debut

Team India is set to make a number of changes in their first Test against West Indies, starting on Wednesday at the Windsor Park Stadium in Roseau, Dominica. Captain Rohit Sharma on Tuesday confirmed that Yashasvi Jaiswal will make his debut and will open the batting alongside him.

IPL 2023 Orange Cap winner Shubman Gill, who opened the innings alongside skipper Rohit in the World Test Championship (WTC) final last month, will bat at the No.3 spot. According to the India skipper, Rohit’s current partner Gill will slot in at No.3 to fill the gap left by Cheteshwar Pujara, who was not picked for this tour.

“Gill will play at No.3 because Gill himself wants to play at No.3,” Rohit Sharma said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the first Test on Wednesday.

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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 can do better for my team. And it’s good for us too because it becomes a starting combination. Left and right,” said the India captain.

solid support for @ybj_19 And the youth in the team _ _@shubmangil To bat at number 3 _ _

_ snippets #TeamIndia captain @ImRo45before the first press conference of #WIvIND Examination _ pic.twitter.com/idDJwh6Fn5

– BCCI (@BCCI) 11 July 2023

“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-handed batsman for many years. So now that we have got that left-hander, let’s hope he does well for the team. And he can really make that spot his own,” Rohit said.

It seems that apart from Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan can also make his Test debut in Roseau in place of KS Bharath and he can be made the wicketkeeper in the team. Bharat has struggled with the bat in his short Test career so far, averaging just 18.42 and scoring a high of 44.

Rohit Sharma also informed the media that Team India will field with two spinners in the first Test. This means that Ravichandran Ashwin may return to partnership with Ravindra Jadeja after being ruled out of the WTC final.

Along with Ashwin, India can go into the match with three pacers – Mohammed Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul Thakur. There could be a contest between Unadkat and Akshar Patel for the third bowler’s slot.

india vs west indies 1st test probable 11

India: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel/Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Siraj

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood, Tagnarin Chanderpaul, Kyle Mayers, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Raymon Reifer, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Alzarri Joseph, G Moti-Kanhai, Kemar Roach