India vs Windies | India announce team for Rajkot Test; Prithvi Shaw to make his debut

After the aberration of the last Test against England, in which India fielded an extra batsman, India are back with their strategy of playing five batsmen and a wicket-keeper. While Rishabh Pant has retained his spot in the team after the prolific century in the fifth Test against England at The Oval, Shaw will now partner KL Rahul and has been selected ahead of Mayank Agarwal, who literally broke the Indian selection door with tons of runs on the A circuit and for Karnataka. On the other hand, Hanuma Vihari, who scored a fifty on debut against England, will have to sit out to accommodate two spinners in the team.

While the Karnataka batsman was prolific, 18-year-old Shaw has been a spectacular discovery in Mumbai and has been touted for bigger things ever since he stuck 546 runs during a Harris Shield match at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai in 2013. His success and appetite for runs never ended as he captained India to the Under-19 World Cup title, and began his first-class career with a hundred in the fourth innings of the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy last year and since then has scored 1,418 runs at an average of 56.72. 

If India decide to go with two pacers and three spinners, then Kuldeep will play ahead of Shardul Thakur, who in converse situation, will partner Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami. However, considering the traditional spin-friendly strips of Rajkot, India may go with three spinners. 

India's 12-member shortlist: Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur