India vs West Indies: 4 Indian new faces to watch out for

After a thrilling Asia Cup victory, India will resume action with the red ball from 4th October at Rajkot as West Indies has arrived for a big tour, featuring 2 Tests, 5 ODIs and 3 T20Is.

India had a forgettable England Test series and they would want to get back to winning ways in the Whites against Windies. BCCI announced a 15-man squad, which includes few new faces while most of the players have been retained.

Captain Virat Kohli who was rested for Asia Cup is set to return to action while Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami would be also seen after the England Tests.

The squad is as under:

Virat Kohli(c), Lokesh Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur

There are a few exciting new players who might finish the series on a high note. Let's check them out.

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#1 Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw

The 18-year-old flamboyant batsman from Mumbai, Prithvi Shaw has been in the limelight since he led India to the 2018 Under-19 World Cup victory.

Shaw who has seven centuries and five fifties at an average of 56.72 in 14 first-class matches was added to the Indian squad for the last two England Tests. Though he couldn't make his debut during the tour, he is expected to open the innings for India in the West Indies series.

Shaw has been a regular member of India 'A' team and his recent knock of 188 against Windies A at Beckenham made it clear that he has the potential to serve Indian cricket at the highest level.

Meanwhile, how he performs during the upcoming Test series would be interesting to watch as international cricket is all together a different platform.

#2 Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal

Karnataka's Mayank Agarwal is one of the famous faces of Indian domestic cricket, though he has been unlucky to have not represented the country internationally yet.

Averaging 50.85 in List A and 49.92 in First-class cricket, Agarwal was the highest run-getter in both Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy during the 2017-18 seasons. Mayank made 1160 in 4-dayers and 723 runs in the one-day tournament.

The 27-year-old was the star appearance for his side during the recently concluded Quadrangular series. He finished the series on high and left a clear message to selectors that he should be given a go in the national team.

Agarwal's inclusion was expected for the West Indies series and he could now well avail the opportunity by doing well in the series.

#3 Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj

Once, India was considered a weak seam bowling side but nowadays, they have plenty of fast and accurate medium pacers, which was witnessed quite well during the England Test series.

Apart from the mainstream fast bowlers, a good number of seamers are serving at the domestic level. One such name is Mohammed Siraj. The 24-year-old Hyderabadi cricketer has been performing very well in the domestic arena and he has been rewarded with the Test call-up for the West Indies series.

Siraj has 97 scalps in 20 First-class games at an excellent economy of 2.96. He bowls quick and can swing the ball both ways. India would be hoping to get a new pace star out of him during the Windies series.

#4 Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur

Another quickie, Shardul Thakur has been around the corner for quite some time. However, he is yet to make a mark at the highest level and the West Indies would be a great chance for him to prove himself.

The right-arm seamer has already played 5 ODIs and 7 T20Is for India, taking 6 and 8 wickets respectively. Nonetheless, his domestic figures are much more impressive.

At an average of 28, Shardul has taken 188 First-class wickets under the economy of 3.10. He plays as the seam bowling spearhead for Mumbai and was among the wickets for India 'A' in the triangular series at England earlier this year.