All-time West India Test XI

#1 Full Team

Karsan Ghavri (far left) gets the slot of 12th man ahead of Ravi Shastri

Having picked the playing eleven, it is imperative to hone in on a twelfth man in order to provide suitable cover for last-minute injuries. With their ability to contribute significantly in multiple departments and lend enormous balance to the team, all-rounders fit the precise criteria for this particular role.

Extra Cover: Sportskeeda's All-Time Test XI - From the realms of immortality

While there could be a reasonable arguments for picking an extraordinary fielder like Eknath Solkar, the presence of a more consistent cricketer can alleviate concerns within the camp.

Hence, in what could be a face-off between talisman seam and steady spin, Karsan Ghavri pips Ravi Shastri for the position of twelfth man. Apart from being a dependable medium pacer, the Rajkot-born cricketer could also strengthen the lower-order with his serviceable batting. If conditions demand a third seam option, he can even replace one of the three spinners in the playing eleven.

All-time West India Test XI

Full Team: Sunil Gavaskar (Mumbai), Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra), Vijay Hazare (c) (Baroda/Maharashtra), Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai), Dilip Vengsarkar (Mumbai), Vinoo Mankad (Gujarat/Maharashtra/Nawanagar), Farokh Engineer (wk) (Mumbai), Ravindra Jadeja (Saurashtra), Irfan Pathan (Baroda), Zaheer Khan (Baroda/Mumbai) and Subhash Gupte (Mumbai)

12th man: Karsan Ghavri (Mumbai/Saurashtra)