India’s last outing in the longer format of the game was in December 2015. India defeated South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla to win the series 3-0 with the spinners ruling the roost in the four-Test series. India then rose to the top of the ICC rankings for a brief period before Australia jumped ahead to take the No.1 spot to demote the Indians back to No.2. But, a lot has changed in the Indian team since then, especially the one calling the shots.

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When India played against South Africa at Feroz Shah Kotla back in December, they played with seven batsmen and four bowlers.

XI against South Africa : Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav

All 11 players who took the field against South Africa are also part of the squad to the Caribbean. Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ishant Sharma are certainties in the Indian XI and that leaves out only four places for the other 10 in the squad to fight it out.

The pitch will decide the combination for the Test, and if the warm-up matches are anything to go by, it is likely to be a slow turner. With Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane also saying that the team is preparing for slow wickets, it is more or less sure that India will go in with a six batsmen – five bowlers combination for the first Test with the spin trio of Ashwin, Jadeja, and Mishra expected to be the main weapons.

Murali Vijay, ranked No. 18 in the ICC Test batsmen rankings, has been one of the consistent performers for India in the Test arena in the last few years. The Tamil Nadu cricketer was the third highest run-getter in the Test series against South Africa, where the spinners ruled the roost. Although he did not play the first warm-up match, the 32-year-old is a sure-shot starter and will take up the opening slot at Antigua.

But, it will be a big surprise if India drop Dhawan for the first Test after putting faith in him by selecting him in the first place. However, a poor performance from the southpaw could change things in the coming games.

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The middle order of the Indian team almost picks itself. Pujara, skipper Kohli and Rahane will take up the No.3, 4 and 5th position in the batting order. But, Rohit Sharma is expected to dropped from the XI with India favouring a six batsmen and five bowlers combination. The Mumbai batsman made just 26 runs from his last two Test matches and made way for the fifth bowler, whenever India opted for one. In the first Test also, he is expected to do the same.

Wriddhiman Saha will don the gloves for the team with Virat Kohli making clear that KL Rahul will only be considered as a wicket-keeping option in the case of an injury to Saha.

Bowlers

India are likely to go with three spinners and two pacers for the first Test with the pitch expected to be a slow turner. Ashwin, Jadeja, and Mishra will form the spin department in that case and Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami will take up the fast bowling duties. According to an ESPNcricinfo report, the other three pacers in the squad - Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur – practised after the core group finished their training in the last two days and thus, it seems that they are unlikely to be part of the playing XI at Antigua.

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Probable XI: Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami.