India's predicted playing XI for the 2nd Test vs West Indies
Team India will look to seal their first series win in the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle when they take on West Indies in the second Test in Port of Spain.
It was smooth sailing for Rohit Sharma and Co. in the series opener as they coasted to a thumping innings win on the back of Yashasvi Jaiswal's century and Ravichandran Ashwin's 10-fer. The away side will know that they are the stronger side on paper and won't want to make too many changes to their playing XI.
India's Test squad for the West Indies series: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
Here is India's predicted playing XI for the second Test against West Indies.
Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Yashasvi Jaiswal
Rohit notched up a superb century in the first Test before being immediately dismissed, and he was outshone by his new opening partner. Yashasvi Jaiswal hammered a daddy hundred on debut to announce his arrival on the international stage, negotiating both pace and spin with a fair amount of ease.
With conditions likely to be slightly more helpful for the bowlers this time around, Rohit and Jaiswal will need to stay on their toes if they are to put up another significant opening partnership.
Middle order: Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ishan Kishan (wk)
Shubman Gill hasn't quite cracked the code of the Test format so far, but it's only a matter of time before he starts plundering runs. Batting at No. 3, the young batter has what it takes to notch up a big score in the second Test.
Virat Kohli, meanwhile, has been at the forefront of a fair bit of criticism over the last few years. The star batter hasn't appeared to be too reliable at the crease against the red ball, something he can only dispel with centuries - and many of them. He looked in decent nick in the previous game and will be eyeing the three-figure mark.
Ajinkya Rahane couldn't deliver in the first Test, shortly after his exploits in the WTC final. The experienced batter will want to make the most of his excellent record in the Caribbean (and against the Windies in general).
Ishan Kishan, unfortunately, didn't get much batting on his debut in the last Test, but he managed to impress Rohit with his glovework. Although his keeping was admittedly unimpressive at times, he will only grow from here. Can the southpaw deliver with the bat, though? Only time will tell.
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Shardul Thakur
Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin form the backbone of India's ideal playing XI in Tests, and they will have pivotal roles to play once again. The Windies batters will find it near-impossible to counter the accurate spin-bowling duo.
If the surface in Port of Spain is similar to the one in Dominica, India might be tempted to field Axar Patel at the expense of one of the fast bowlers. That doesn't seem too likely as of now, though, with Shardul Thakur expected to retain his place in the side.
Bowlers: Jaydev Unadkat and Mohammed Siraj
Mukesh Kumar is an excellent red-ball option, but India's frontline pacers didn't have too much workload in Dominica. Mohammed Siraj and Jaydev Unadkat should be trusted to take the new ball in the second Test as well.