(Reuters) – India left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal will make his test debut as opener while Shubman Gill will move down the order to number three in the first match against West Indies beginning later on Wednesday, visiting captain Rohit Sharma said.
Gill has been playing as Rohit’s opening partner in recent times, including in the World Test Championship final, which they lost to Australia last month.
Before the first match of the two-test series in West Indies, Gill asked head coach Rahul Dravid to let him bat at number three, a position held by veteran Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been dropped from the side.
“He said he can do better for the team at number three. It helps us too as it creates a left-right opening combination,” Rohit said in his pre-match press conference.
“This is what we are trying and hopefully this becomes a long-term thing as we have been desperate for a left-hander.
“We have got that left-hander in Jaiswal and let’s hope that he performs well for the team and he can really make that spot his own.”
With Jasprit Bumrah out injured and Mohammed Shami rested, Mohammed Siraj will lead the pace attack for India, which includes the uncapped Mukesh Kumar.
“Indian cricket will always face this challenge because we play a lot of cricket, so obviously we have to manage players, rotate them and give them enough breaks,” Rohit explained.
“When they return, we want them fresh. We need to be wary of the tournaments ahead of us.
“There is a World Cup coming, so we have to keep that in mind too,” he said referring to the 50-overs showpiece tournament in India during October-November.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Peter Rutherford)
