Shubman Gill, India likely to welcome West Indies on a green top in Ahmedabad for first Test

Shubman Gill’s side will kick off a run of four home Tests in eight weeks on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium against West Indies, hoping to reclaim their status as practically impossible to tame on their own patch. India’s aura of home invincibility took a serious pounding after the 0-3 drubbing by New Zealand last year, but that doesn’t make them any more vulnerable. Their last assignment ended in a 2-2 stalemate following five breathtaking pow-wows in England, and it’s off that confidence that they will feed against a West Indian outfit helmed by Roston Chase that is languishing in eighth position on the ICC Test table.

India pacer Mohammed Siraj (left) and spinner Axar Patel during a training session in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. Pic/PTI

Normally, India would have packed their XI with three spinners — they have four in the squad — but that’s no guarantee now. As late as at 2.30 pm on Wednesday, just before the sun briefly won its battle with thick clouds, the red-soil grass-laden pitch was watered. Depending on how it appears in the morning and how the think-tank reads it, India will zero in on their final XI, which should see a toss-up between a third spinning option or a third fast-bowling/medium-paced choice, likely to be all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Padikkal may return

Settled after their excellent display in England, India should recall Devdutt Padikkal, the tall left-hander, in the middle order to fill the hole created by the axing of his Karnataka colleague Karun Nair, one of the few batting failures in the summer. Padikkal has been in good recent touch, like most of the top-order batters including KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan and Dhruv Jurel. Of all those who played in England, only Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja have had a complete break from competitive cricket, but both topped up their skills in the two practice sessions here and looked none the worse for not having played a game for nearly two months.

West Indies have lost their last four series in India and Chase conceded that ‘people expect us to lose.’ Their aspirations of emulating New Zealand were dealt a big blow with the two Josephs, Shamar and Alzarri, ruled out through injury. Jaydon Seales will have to shoulder the pace attack in their absence, with vice-captain Jomel Warrican seeking to draw inspiration from Kiwi left-arm spinners Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel. For over a week, Chase’s boys have endeavoured to come to terms with Indian conditions and the heat — despite the rains of the last few days — and know that they will have to play out of their skins if they are to arrest their winning streak here.

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No. of Test series WI have lost on their last four tours to India