India vs West Indies: India's Predicted 15-member Squad and Starting XI

With the Asia Cup over, followers of Indian cricket will turn their attention towards the Indian team's next assignment: a home Test series against West Indies. While this series in itself is likely to be an easy one for India, the selectors and management will have their eyes on the Test series against Australia, and will look to utilise this series to put at bay all the concerns which arose in England. This slideshow looks at India's predicted 15-member squad and starting 11 for the series against West Indies, keeping in mind their later Test assignments.

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#1 Openers: KL Rahul and Prithvi Shaw

Despite the fact that this particular opening combination has never played together - with Shaw not having even played a single international match - it is still almost certain that these two players will be India's preferred opening combination going forward. KL Rahul, after his valiant fourth-innings display in the last Test against England, has sealed his spot as the first-choice opener, despite what critics may say.

KL Rahul's partner will certainly be Prithvi Shaw, if media reports are to be believed. While Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan have had stellar showings in home conditions, it is likely that with the focus on overseas tours and with an eye on the future, Prithvi Shaw will be taking their spot. What this means for the future of Vijay and Dhawan is yet to be seen; however, at this point in time, Prithvi Shaw looks set to debut for India.

#2 Middle-order: Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane

India's middle-order consists of arguably their three best batsmen at the moment, and looks set to continue. While there have been concerns over Pujara and Rahane's form, with Rahane being dropped in South Africa and Pujara in England, both of them have made their way back into the team and look set to continue performing.

Virat Kohli, who is almost unarguably the best batsman in the world, will be looking to make an emphatic return to the Indian side after being rested for the Asia Cup. However, while there is little doubt about his batting, his captaincy, which received limited but cogent criticism over the course of the series against England, may come under the scanner as the series progresses, particularly with an eye towards India's series against Australia beginning later this year.

#3 Lower-middle Order: Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja

Rishabh Pant, who impressed one and all with his attacking fourth-innings hundred in the last Test against England, looks set to retain his spot as the wicket-keeper. Despite being slightly inconsistent as a batsman, Pant is sure to perform well with the bat in these Tests at home conditions. His wicket-keeping, however, will be closely observed, especially in light of the fact that he conceded more than fifty byes in all three of the Test matches that he played in England.

Ravindra Jadeja, who has been in and out of the Indian side in overseas conditions, looks set to return to the side as a regular, at least for this series. Moreover, with his impressive showing in the last Test against England and surging limited overs comeback, Jadeja seems to be making a case to replace Ashwin as India's first-choice spinner in overseas conditions. While Jadeja looks set to retain his place in this series, it will be interesting to see how the dynamics change once Hardik Pandya returns from injury, particularly in seam-friendly overseas conditions.

#4 Bowlers: Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah

Ashwin seems to have recovered from the injury he picked up in England, and looks set to return to the squad. With his status as India's first-choice spinner under threat from Ravindra Jadeja, he will surely be looking to put in a great performance and be a certainty in the starting 11 in the series against Australia.

India seem to be spoiled for choice when it comes to the pace-bowling attack. With their extremely impressive returns in England, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah look set to fill two of the three slots for pacers. The third slot, however, remains a matter of debate, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, and Umesh Yadav as the contenders.

The team management's decision to drop Yadav from the 11 in the series against England seems to give the indication that he has fallen down the pecking order, and considering that, either Shami or Bhuvneshwar will likely fill that role. The scales seem to be slightly tipped in Kumar's favour keeping in mind Shami's lacklustre showing in England. Further, with an eye towards India's tour of Australia, Bhuvneshwar's stellar performances on previous overseas tours will be another factor in his favour.

#5 Reserves: Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Hanuma Vihari, and Mayank Agarwal

Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav appear set to be India's reserve fast bowling options. However, given that all three of India's first-choice seam options - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ishant Sharma - have had injury and fitness concerns in recent times, they may well be called upon to play and have to be ready for that.

Karun Nair and Hanuma Vihari, who were India's backup middle-order options in England, look set to continue in that role. While it seems unlikely that either of them will get a chance to play, the Indian team management has made certain surprising surprising selection decisions in the past - including handing Vihari a debut in England - so there still remains the possibility of these two getting a chance, and if and when they do, they need to be ready to take it.

Lastly, Mayank Agarwal, who seems to have done everything one could to merit an international call-up, seems to finally be getting one. He has been going through a purple patch in domestic cricket since the start of the last domestic season, and with Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan likely not to feature in the squad, he will fill in the third opener's spot. Whether he gets an opportunity to play or not remains to be seen; however, it is almost certain that he will feature in the 15-member squad.