India Vs West Indies, 1st Test: Three Key Battles To Watch Out For In IND Vs WI Clash

After the recent triumph in the Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE, Indian team will kick-start their home season with the two-match Test series against the West Indies starting with the 1st Test on October 2 in Ahmedabad.

This will be India's first home series since the 3-0 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand last November. Shubman Gill will lead India on home turf for the first time as they resume the ICC World Test Championship sojourn and will be favourites against the Men from Caribbean.

West Indies, on the other hand, will be led by Roston Chase and will be weakened after losing key pacers Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph ahead of the 1st Test.

Here are the three key battles to look forward to in the 1st IND vs WI Test:

1) Shubman Gill vs Jayden Seales

Indian skipper Shubman Gill comes into this series on the back of a stupendous outing with the bat in England wherein he scored 754 runs at an average of 75.40 in 5 Tests. Gill also displayed astute leadership skills as India snatched a brilliant 2-2 draw in England. Up against him will be WI pacer Jayden Seales, who will be leading the line in the absence of Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph. It will be interesting to see how the West Indies pacer goes about with his line and length against one of the best batter in the world.

2) Kuldeep Yadav vs Shai Hope

Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav did not got any chances in England despite some assistance for spinners but the chinaman could come into play against West Indies batters on turning tracks of India. Shai Hope is a good batter against spin and his battle against Kuldeep will be an interesting watch and could decide the outcome of the game as well as the series.

3) Mohammed Siraj vs Tagenarine Chanderpaul

Mohammed Siraj will be raring to bowl again on Indian turf as he looks to lead the hosts to victory against the West Indies. However, West Indies batter Tagenarine Chanderpaul will look to spoil Siraj's party on the given day. Chanderpaul who has been picked 'to help transform the fortunes at the top' by the West Indies selectors, could have a field day if the pitch appears to be a flat one.

India vs West Indies Test Series 2025: Full Squads

India: Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, N Jagadeesan (WK), Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav.

West Indies: Roston Chase (C), Jomel Warrican, Kevlon Anderson, Alick Athanaze, John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Jediah Blades, Johann Layne, Brandon King, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre and Jayden Seales.