India vs West Indies: Prithvi Shaw to debut as India announce 12-man squad for Rajkot Test

Prithvi Shaw is poised to make his debut for India in the opening test against West Indies starting in Rajkot on Thursday. The 18-year-old right-hander was named in a 12-man squad on Wednesday for the first of the two-test series and is expected to open alongside Lokesh Rahul.

Fellow rookie opener Mayank Agarwal, all-rounder Hanuma Vihari and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj were the three players to miss out from India's original 15-man squad.

Shaw was also part of the Indian squad for the last two Test matches against England, but didn’t get an opportunity as the team management decided to persist with Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul.

The young Mumbai batsman has been on an extended run of good form over the past 24 months. Shaw, who also led the India U-19 squad to the world title earlier this year, averages 56.72 in first-class cricket at a strike rate of 76.69. He scored a hundred on debut in Ranji Trophy and then became the youngest player to score a hundred on debut in Duleep Trophy.

It comes as no surprise that the team management decided to go in with three spinners and three pacers in the 12-man squad. Umesh Yadav is most likely to play as the second fast bowler with Shami as India are expected to go with an extra spinner. 

India squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Lokesh Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur.