Team India will return to their home soil after a tough series in England when the clash against Windies in the first of the two-match Test series at Rajkot starting from October 4 (Thursday).
Meanwhile, India will look to consolidate their position at the top of the rankings. In a bid to that, they have dropped incumbent openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan owing to poor form. On the other hand, they have added some new faces in the squad with Mayank Agarwal and Mohammad Siraj getting rewards for their consistent performances. Moreover, Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari retained their places in the revamped squad.
Virat Kohli will come back after a brief rest to lead the side against the Caribbeans. With many new faces in the side, it will provide management with the perfect food of tasting their bench strength ahead of the Australia tour.
Here is the predicted XI of Team India for the 1st Test against Windies at Rajkot:
PRITHVI SHAW
Prithvi Shaw got his debut call for team India for the last two Tests against England, however, didn’t get an opportunity. However, now with regular openers dropped, he is likely to earn his India cap.
He has been scoring runs consistently since making the headlines and will look to continue that form in the international arena.
KL RAHUL
KL Rahul showed some hint of form in the last Test against England with a brilliant century. He then backed it up with a fifty in the only Asia Cup game he played.
Rahul will look to continue scoring to retain his spot with Mayank Agarwal sitting on the wings for a chance.
CHETESHWAR PUJARA
Cheteshwar Pujara has been the mainstay of India’s batting for quite some time now. And now back in the subcontinent, the management will hope Pujara to dominate the proceedings.
The Saurashtra batsman will look to put some runs under his belt before the critical Australia series.
VIRAT KOHLI (C)
Virat Kohli will be keen to pick up from where he left in England. After giving the recently concluded Asia Cup a miss, he will be back to lead the side fresh.
The talismanic run-scorer will look to be high on confidence before the high voltage Australia tour.
AJINKYA RAHANE
Ajinkya Rahane had a tumultuous time in England as his batting lacked consistency big time. He will look to address those problems and put some scores under his belt before the tour to Down Under.
RISHABH PANT
The young wicket-keeper batsman from Delhi impressed with his gutsy batting in England. However, he needs to work hard on his wicket-keeping skills.
Rishabh Pant will retain his place with Wriddhiman Saha still recovering from his shoulder injury.
RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN
Ravichandran Ashwin had an impressive start to his England tour, however, struggled to due to an injury in the latter stage. As a result, he missed the fifth and the final Test against the Three Lions.
Ashwin, meanwhile, will now return to playing XI and will look to dictate the terms against the Windies.
RAVINDRA JADEJA
Ravindra Jadeja has shown good form recently be it in the Test arena or his comeback to the ODI team. Jadeja will partner Ashwin to lead the bowling department after a long time.
Thus he will look to make most the opportunity and cement his place in the first XI.
KULDEEP YADAV
Considering the spinning conditions, India will be tempted to play three spinners and include Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. The left-arm leg-spinner will be desperate to weave his magic against a weak Windies side.
MOHAMMED SHAMI
Mohammed Shami had a good series in England after a shaky time in his personal and professional life. The speedster from Bengal will be pivotal for India when the reverse swing comes into play.
Shami will also look to have a good series ahead of the important Australia series.
UMESH YADAV
Umesh Yadav lost his place in the playing with the return of Jasprit Bumrah. Thus it will be his opportunity to present a good case for himself in front of the selectors.
Yadav known for racking up good pace will look to provide early breakthroughs with the new ball.