Rajkot: Teenage batting sensation Prithvi Shaw will make his Test debut for India here on Thursday. He is set open alongside K.L. Rahul in the first game of the two-match series against West Indies.
18-year-old Shaw has played only 14 first-class games, scoring 1,418 runs at an average of 56.71. He was included in the squad for the final two Tests in England but wasn’t picked in the playing XI.
Sources said, Rajkot has a special place for Shaw. It was here in January last year that he made his Ranji Trophy debut against Tamil Nadu. He was out nicking behind for 4 in the first innings, but made a resolute second-innings century to steer Mumbai’s chase and seal a berth in the final.
Today, captain Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane will bat at their usual spots while Rishabh Pant, who scored a stroke-filled 114 at the Oval, will take up the wicket-keeping role.
Three specialist spinners — Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav — have been picked and the pace pairing will be of Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav.
India will look to maintain their numero-uno position in the test cricket.
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