Roseau (Dominica): Indian skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday confirmed that young Yashasvi Jaiswal will make his debut and play as an opener in the first Test of the two-match series against the West Indies, which begins here today (7.30 pm IST).
The 21-year-old Jaiswal comes off the back of a stellar performance in the domestic circuit across formats, including a brilliant season in the Indian Premier League.
The left-hander, who was the Player of the Tournament at the 2020 U-19 World Cup, was a stand-by squad member for India's World Test Championship final against Australia last month and was called up to the Test squad for the series against the West Indies.
Jaiswal has played only 15 first-class matches but averages over 80 in those, with nine centuries and a highest score of 265.
Addressing the pre-match press conference, Rohit mentioned that Shubman Gill will go down to No.3 to fill the spot vacated by Cheteshwar Pujara, who wasn't considered for the tour.
"Gill will play at No.3 because Gill himself wants to play at No. 3. He discussed with (head coach) Rahul (Dravid) that I have played all my cricket at 3 and 4. I think I can do better for my team if I bat at No. 3. And it is good for us too because it becomes an opening combination of left and right," said Rohit on the eve of the first Test.
"So I think we will try to do this and hopefully this will go on for a long time. Because we have been looking for a left-hander for many years. So now that we have got that left-hander, let's hope he performs well for the team. And he (Jaiswal) can really make that spot his own," he added.
The 36-year-old Rohit also confirmed that India are also set to play two spinners in the first Test. Although he did not confirm who the spinners were, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are primed to take the two spots with Axar Patel the other spinner in the squad.
While India will be playing their first Test after their WTC final loss, West Indies are coming off a shocking elimination from the ODI World Cup Qualifier.
There are plenty of challenges for both sides and they will be eager to prove themselves in the beginning phase of ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle.
