West Indies will lock horns with India in the first Test match at Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica from Wednesday onwards. Both teams will look to begin the new cycle of the World Test Championship on a high and tick the right boxes.
Indian players have had almost one month break after losing the WTC final against Australia by 209 runs. Youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been added to the Test set up and they will be looking to grab it with both hands. However, veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped by the selectors.
Mohammed Shami has been rested for the two-match Test series. Furthermore, there will be pressure on experienced players such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ajinkya Rahane to deliver the goods.
On the other hand, West Indies recently suffered the disappointment of not qualifying for the ODI World Cup 2023 and the Test team will aim to start fresh. The Windies will look to make the most of their own conditions and deliver the goods in the two-match Test series.
Moreover, experienced players such as Kraigg Brathwaite, Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach, and Jermaine Blackwood are going to hold the key for the home team.
Match Prediction: India will start as favorites against West Indies as they have a potent team.
India’s 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, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
West Indies squad for 1st Test vs India: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kirk McKenzie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican.
Traveling Reserves: Tevin Imlach, Akeem Jordan
