The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a first, named the final 12 for India’s first Test against the Windies, to begin at Rajkot from Thursday. The notable inclusion in the 12 was India Under-19 captain Prithvi Shaw, who is slated to open the innings with KL Rahul, settling all speculations about which duo would bat first.
Prithvi Shaw had lead India Under-19 to a World Cup triumph in New Zealand earlier this year.
Three specialist spinners — Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav — have been picked and the pace pairing will be of Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav.
Hanuma Vihari, who had a made gritty 56 on debut at The Oval against England, has been dropped.
Wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant will bat at six while Jadeja will be expected to make vital lower-order contributions in the absence of injured all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Squad For The First Test :
KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur
