India will take on the West Indies in the first of the two-match Test series. This article provides details about India’s Playing 11 vs West Indies for the first match of the series.
India Playing XI vs West Indies- 1st Test, West Indies Tour of India 2025:
Openers: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal
India would like to have a solid start to the upcoming home season, which begins with a two-match Test series against the West Indies.
The selectors have decided to stick with the core of the squad that played the Test series against England and managed to draw it courtesy of a memorable win on the last day of the series.
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The batters would be aware of what transpired the last time they played a Test series in India and would want to get things right from the first ball when they come out to bat against the West Indies.
The hosts would open the batting with the pair of Yashasvi Jaiswa and KL Rahul, both of whom have a decent record while batting together, and would hope to build on it in the first Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Rahul was in good form in the recently concluded multi-day series against Australia A and would want to carry the same in the first Test.
Yashasvi, on the other hand, would want to add to an already strong record that he possesses in Test matches played at home.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Sai Sudharshan, Shubman Gill (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar
The opening pair will be followed by a middle order which will have its task cut out in spin-friendly conditions after what happened in the last home Test series against New Zealand.
The onus will be on experienced batters Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja to score the bulk of the runs and stabilize the innings by doing so.
This duo would want good support from young batters like Sai Sudharshan, who, in all likelihood, will bat at number three, and Dhru Jurel, who will be the first-choice keeper in the absence of Rishabh Pant.
The presence of Washington Sundar and Axar Patel would provide much-needed depth to India’s batting lineup.
Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
As far as the bowling department is concerned, it is heavily loaded with spin, with as many as four spinners expected to feature in the playing XI for the first Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The four spinners predicted to play the opening match of the series are Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Kulddep, if he gets a game in the longest format of the game, will feature in the test team after quite a while, having not been able to find a place in all five Test matches against England.
The team’s fast bowling will be spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, with Siraj playing an international match for the first time after his heroics in England.
