India Vs West Indies 1st Test Predicted 11: Yashasvi Jaiswal To Open With Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan Set To Make Test Debut Too

Team India are set to ring in plenty of changes of their first Test against West Indies which gets underway at the Windsor Park Stadium in Roseau, Dominica, on Wednesday. Skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed on Tuesday that Yashasvi Jaiswal will be making his debut and will be opening the batting alongside him.

Shubman Gill, IPL 2023’s Orange Cap winner, who opened the innings with captain Rohit at the World Test Championship (WTC) Final last month will be batting at the No. 3 position. In order to fill the spot left by Cheteshwar Pujara, who wasn’t selected for this tour, Rohit’s current partner Gill will go down to No. 3, according to the India captain.

“Gill will play at number 3 because Gill himself wants to play at number 3,” Rohit Sharma said in a pre-match press conference ahead of the first Test on Wednesday.

“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 the India skipper.

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

“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,” Rohit added.

Apart from Jaiswal, it seems that Ishan Kishan could also make his Test debut in Roseau, replacing KS Bharat as the wicketkeeper in the side. Bharat has struggled with the bat in his brief Test career so far, averaging just 18.42 with a top-score of 44.

Rohit Sharma also informed the media that Team India will play two spinners in the first Test. Which means Ravichandran Ashwin could make a return to partner with Ravindra Jadeja, after missing out on the WTC Final.

With Ashwin in the side, India could go in the match with three pacers – Mohammed Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul Thakur. It could be a toss up between Unadkat and Axar Patel for the third bowler’s spot.

India Vs West Indies 1st Test Predicted 11

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

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