India vs West Indies 2016: India Probable Playing XI
India are set to play their first Test match in 7 months as they take on the West Indies at The Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua. Their last Test match was a successful one, comfortably overwhelming South Africa when the two sides faced each other back in December of 2015 at the Ferozshah Kotla.
Plenty has changed since then however. Most notably, the appointment of Anil Kumble as head coach of the Indian team. Virat Kohli has grown both as a batsman and a leader and this is a great opportunity for the Delhi dasher to lead his side to a win against a relatively inexperienced Windies squad. With the Indian team set to play 15 Test matches over the course of the next 12 months, Indian fans have a treat in store of them.
Read: West Indies announce 12 man squad for first Test; Recall 5 of the most famous Tests between the two nations
There are plenty of questions for the Indian team however. Kohli has explicitly mentioned his preference to play with 6 batsmen and 5 bowlers in Tests, intensifying the competition for places in the batting order.
How will the Indian team line up in the first Test? We predicted a playing XI:
1) Murali Vijay
The 32 year old from Chennai has established himself at the top of the order. Such was his form in the longest format of the game, that it might have been no surprise if his name was the first on the team sheet. He suffered an indifferent start to his career, before modifying his game and evolving into the perfect opener in Test cricket. His two best series’ came against the English in England and the Australians in Australia, a simply remarkable feat. In England, especially, with the rest of the batting crumbling, he stayed rock solid. Murali Vijay, locked and loaded at #1.