IND vs WI: Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Friday announced its 13-member test squad for the opening test against India. The cricket board has made a few surprise selections as they look to begin the brand new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle against team India.
The first India vs West Indies test is set to begin on July 12 at Windsor Park in Dominica. The two teams are building up for the challenge swiftly.
West Indies have handed maiden call-ups to Kirk McKenzie and Alick Athanaz. While McKenzie’s encouraging show against the Bangladesh A side recently, earned him a spot in the team, Alick Athanaz comes into the side with decent first-class success. Athanaz has been involved in 30 first-class matches in which he amassed 1825 runs along with two centuries.
“We were very impressed with the approach to batsmanship of McKenzie and Athanaze on the recent ‘A’ Team tour of Bangladesh,” West Indies chief selector Desmond Haynes said.
Meanwhile, the selectors have recalled Rahkeem Cornwall, who will make his comeback into the side after two long years. Notably, Cornwall made his test debut back in 2019 in the series against India. He became a regular feature of the West Indies test team, however, in 2021, he faced an axe and since then he has been sidelined from the squad.
The selection of Cornwall comes as a blessing in disguise for him as he is no longer a first-choice spinner for West Indies. Gudakesh Motie, the regular spinner of the Caribbean side, has suffered injuries and is replaced by Rahkeem Cornwall.
Opening batter Craig Braithwaite is given the responsibility to lead his side against a strong Indian team led by Rohit Sharma.
The challenge to overcome the domination of team India won’t be easy for the West Indies. Moreover, looking at the performance of West Indies in the recently held ICC World Cup Qualifiers, it seems that India will certainly make it look blunt one-sided affair.
The IND vs WI two-match test series is set to begin on July 12 in Dominica. The two sides will then proceed to Trinidad for India vs West Indies 2nd Test.
Let’s take a look at West Indies Test Squad for the Indian series:
IND vs WI: West Indies Test Squad
West Indies Squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jermaine Blackwood (vc), Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kirk McKenzie, Joshua Da Silva, Kemar Roach, Raymon Reifer, Jomel Warrican.
Traveling Reserves: Tevin Imlach, Akeem Jordan.
IND vs WI: India’s Test Squad
Rohit Sharma (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), KS Bharat (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan (wk), Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini.
India vs West Indies Test Schedule
| Day/Date | Match Details | Venue |
| July 12-16 | WI vs IND 1st Test | Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica |
| July 20-24 | WI vs IND 2nd Test | Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad |
ALSO READ: Jadeja drops hints on MS Dhoni’s IPL future for CSK along with birthday wishes as Dhoni turns 42
For more details head to BCCI’s official website.