Ahmedabad: India skipper Shubman Gill made bold calls at the toss of the first Test against West Indies on Thursday, unveiling a spin-heavy playing XI that excluded Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Devdutt Padikkal.
Gill opted for a combination of three spinners and two frontline pacers, with Nitish Kumar Reddy getting the nod as the pace-bowling all-rounder despite his indifferent form. The decision meant no place for Padikkal—drafted in recently as Karun Nair’s replacement—or for pacer Prasidh Krishna, who had impressed during the England tour.
With Rishabh Pant unavailable, the wicketkeeping duties were handed to youngster Dhruv Jurel. “We have four home Tests before the end of the year, and the aim is to win all four,” Gill said at the toss. “The preparation has been good, everyone is in touch. Not disappointed at losing the toss; the surface looks good, maybe some help early on. We’ve gone with two seamers—Bumrah and Siraj—three spinners in Jaddu bhai, Washington and Kuldeep, plus Nitish as the all-rounder.”
India’s XI features Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj.
West Indies skipper Roston Chase won the toss and chose to bat, naming a line-up of Tagenarine Chanderpaul, John Campbell, Alick Athanaze, Brandon King, Shai Hope (wk), Roston Chase (c), Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, Khary Pierre, Johann Layne, and Jayden Seales.
The Test marks the beginning of a four-match home series for India, with Gill’s selection gambit likely to be closely scrutinised in the days ahead.
