[WATCH] Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hand caps to Kishan & Jaiswal ahead of 1st IND vs WI Test
Team India handed two debut caps to Ishan Kishan and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the first Test against the West Indies at Windsor Park in Dominica, starting from Wednesday, July 12.
The two-match series will be India's first assignment after a debacle in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. They suffered a 209-run defeat against a mighty Australia at the Kennington Oval.
The current Men in Blue side is going through a transition with the 2023-25 WTC cycle still in its early stage. Hence, the think tank added Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order to bring in the left-hand-right-hand combination. Incumbent opener Shubman Gill will slot in at No.3 in place of Cheteshwar Pujara, who was left out of the side.
Ishan Kishan, meanwhile, replaced KS Bharat as the wicketkeeper-batter. Bharat, who emerged as the first-choice gloveman in the absence of Rishabh Pant, failed to make a mark in the Test series against Australia and the WTC final in London.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a clip where heavyweights Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma handed their debut caps to Ishan and Yashasvi.
"Watch - Proud moment for the two youngsters as they receive their Test caps from Captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. #WIvIND," the BCCI captioned the video.
Watch 📹📹- Proud moment for the two youngsters as they receive their Test caps from Captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
#WIvIND https://t.co/D9QXRQvX35
Yashasvi Jaiswal has been making the headlines for quite some time now. Apart from his impressive first-class record where he averages over 80, Jaiswal impressed one and all with his swashbuckling batting in IPL 2023. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter amassed 625 runs from 14 matches at an average of 48.08.
Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, has 2985 runs under his belt in 48 first-class matches, including six centuries and 16 fifties.
Speaking of the game, West Indies have lost both their openers after opting to bat first. They are currently placed at 38/2 with Ravichandran Ashwin accounting for both wickets.
India and West Indies Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, and Mohammed Siraj.
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Raymon Reifer, Jermaine Blackwood, Alick Athanaze, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Jason Holder, Rahkeem Cornwall, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, and Jomel Warrican.