[In Pictures] Team India ramp up preparations after reaching Dominica ahead of 1st Test against West Indies 

Team India are settling into Dominica, the site for the first Test against the West Indies, after completing their initial phase of preparation in Barbados. The team traveled across islands on Saturday, July 8, following a couple of inter-squad practice matches along with a few local players to make up the squad.

The upcoming Test series will kickstart Team India's 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The squad was on a lengthy break after the defeat in the WTC final against Australia at The Oval in June. The break arguably came at a good time with the busy schedule ahead of them, with crucial tournaments like Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup to take place in the near future.

The BCCI shared a few photographs of the team's first training session in Dominica through their Twitter account. Head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour were seen addressing the players following which the players honed their skills in the nets.

Newly appointed vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, and Shubman Gill were seen facing the bowlers in the nets. Spin duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were snapped while having a discussion with the head coach as well.

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Straight from Dominica

Getting into the Test groove

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Rohit Sharma and Co. are also scheduled to play three ODIs and five T20Is following the culmination of the two-match Test series in July.

India and West Indies will kickstart the tour from July 12 onwards

India and West Indies are scheduled to commence the tour with the first Test at Windsor Park, Dominica, from Wednesday, July 12, onwards. The Windies are looking to shake off their embarrassing exit from the ICC ODI World Cup qualifiers and also register their first win over India in Test cricket since 2002. The second Test of the series will be hosted by the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad.

There were notable changes in the squad for the tour, with the biggest one being in the form of Cheteshwar Pujara's omission. New faces like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, and Yashasvi Jaiswal found a place while senior pacer Mohammed Shami was rested.

India squad for West Indies Tests:

Test squad: 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.

IND vs WI Tests schedule:

1st Test: Windsor Park, Dominica from 7.30 PM IST (July 12-16)

2nd Test: Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad from 7.30 PM IST (July 20-24)

Who will win the Test series between the two sides? Let us know what you think.

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