Yashasvi Jaiswal: Yashasvi Jaiswal is all set to make his Test debut against West Indies after slamming 76 balls 54 in the practice match yesterday. The southpaw opened the innings alongside Rohit Sharma and grabbed his chance with both hands. Now, Jaiswal is likely to play at the crucial number three position in the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara.
Shubman Gill will continue to open with Rohit Sharma at the top. The Gujrat Titans opener is looked upon as an all-format player at the top of the order. However, Gill has played at number three position and lower during his Under-19 days. Gill also has a double century in an A Test against West Indies at number four. But with the start the GT opener has had in Test cricket at the top it would be unfair to drop him at number three role.
Jaiswal will slot in at three, with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane occupying number four and five slots respectively. While Jaiswal is traditionally a opener, the selectors are looking at him as a long-term number three prospect in Test cricket.
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Yashavi Jaiswal: Jaiswal’s time to shine against West Indies
Jaiswal shot into reckoning by having a dream start to his first-class career. The southpaw has so far played 15 matches and scored 1845 runs at an average of 80.21. The 21-year-old is also coming from a prolific IPL 2023 season, scoring over 600 runs. With Pujara not scoring heavily at number three, an opportunity is there for Jaiswal to make the number three spot his own in two-match series against West Indies.
While Jaiswal stroked a fluent fifty, the likes of Kohli and Rahane missed out on scoring runs. Kohli was yet again dismissed going after a wide ball from Jaydev Unadkat. The former India captain’s vulnerability with deliveries outside off stump is not new, and this time Unadkat reaped rewards. Rahane also failed to get going in the intra-squad practice game.
Speaking about the combination for the first Test, India are likely to play Ashwin as the second spinner on a dry Dominica deck. Shardul Thakur will be the third pacer alongside Shami and, most probably Unadkat. The first Test will begin on Wednesday (July 12).
India Squad WI Tests: 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.
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