India announce final 12 for West Indies 1st Test
The long wait is over for Prithvi Shaw, who travelled with the squad for the England Test tour. The 18-year-old will make his Test debut for India in the first Test against West Indies at Rajkot as he got the nod ahead of Mayank Agarwal. India announced their starting 12 for the first Test with just five front-line batsmen.
While Virat Kohli will captain the side, KL Rahul and Prithvi Shaw will be the two openers. The former's century in the final Test against England helped him secure a spot while Mayank Agarwal will feel unlucky to miss out after finally making it to the Test squad.
Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane remain in the middle-order while Rishabh Pant will be the wicketkeeper. In home conditions, India could even go in with a three-pronged spin attack with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav all in the starting 12.
If India do decide to go in with just two spinners then Shardul Thakur will be making his Test debut as the third seamer along with Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.
India's starting 12: Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw (debut), Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur.