The young Indian opener Prithvi Shaw will be receiving his India Test cap on the morning of October 4 at Rajkot ahead of the opening Test against the West Indies. On Wednesday, BCCI confirmed a 12-man squad for the opening Test of the two-match series. Shaw will become the 293rd player to play the longest format for India. Virat Kohli will lead the squad after taking sufficient rest during the recently concluded Asia Cup – which India won by beating Bangladesh in the final.
In the 12-player squad, there is no space for Mayank Agarwal or Hanuma Vihari – who had played against England and picked up three wickets. The decision will come down to whether the team management goes for three spinners – R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav or three seamers – Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur for a six batsman and five bowler combination. If India chooses to go with the third seamer then, Shardul will be the recipient of the Test cap as well, but that will depend on the pitch conditions as well.
Shaw was selected for the squad ahead of Agarwal when he got the chance for the last two Tests on the tour of England. Now with Shikhar Dhawan not in the squad, Shaw getting chance ahead of Agarwal seems fair. He has scored 1,418 runs in 14 First-Class matches at an impressive average of 56.72.
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The young opener scored seven centuries and five fifties to his name with a high score of 188 runs against West Indies for India A that too at a strike rate of 76.69.
India’s deputy skipper Ajinkya Rahane said he wanted Shaw to play his natural attacking game for the upcoming series. During the pre-match press conference, he said, “I’m definitely happy for him. I’ve been following him since his young days for Mumbai, we practiced together. He’s an attacking opening batsman. He’s been doing so well for Mumbai, India A on a consistent basis, so that’s the reward he got. I wish him good luck and I am sure he will do well. I just want him to play as he has been doing for Mumbai and India A and I think he will be fine.”
India 12-man squad for 1st Test: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw (debut), Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur.
