RAJKOT, India (AP) — India won the toss and decided to bat in the first cricket test against West Indies on Thursday after handing 18-year-old batting prodigy Prithvi Shaw his maiden test cap.
At 18 years, 329 days, he is the second-youngest Indian test cricketer after Vijay Mehra, who made his debut at 17 years, 265 days against New Zealand in 1955.
Shaw scored 546 runs in a high school Harris Shield elite match in 2013 and a century on his first-class debut in 2017, also at Rajkot.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah were rested following heavy workloads in England and during the Asia Cup, while Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya are out injured. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav will handle pace duties.
West Indies also handed a test debut to right-arm pacer Sherman Lewis, but skipper Jason Holder was ruled out of the test due to an ankle injury.
Kraigg Brathwaite will captain West Indies, who haven't won a test in India since 1994.
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Teams:
India: Lokesh Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav.
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Kieran Powell, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase, Sunil Ambris, Shane Dowrich (wk), Keemo Paul, Devendra Bishoo, Sherman Lewis, Shannon Gabriel.
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