New era, new pitch for India: Shubman Gill’s captaincy debut at home targets WTC boost against depleted Windies

India faces immense pressure in the upcoming home Test against a depleted West Indies, led by Shubman Gill. Crucial WTC points are at stake, with India aiming to correct past mistakes. A grassy red-soil pitch at Ahmedabad suggests a balanced attack of pace and spin, leveraging India's all-rounders and potentially four spinners.

India's head coach Gautam Gambhir, left, and India's captain Shubman Gill talk during a practice session ahead of the first Test cricket match against West Indies at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Ahmedabad: Junk the theory right away that it is easy being an Indian cricket team, especially when it plays Test cricket at home. It’s a fallacy. Why? Because you are expected to win. Even a draw is looked at as a defeat, and a series defeat, like when India last played Tests at home against New Zealand, is viewed as a catastrophe, especially if it leads to the team missing out on the WTC final.

Shubman Gill press conference: Jasprit Bumrah fitness, Kuldeep Yadav selection, team combination and more

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As Shubman Gill prepares to lead India for the first time at home against a depleted West Indies side in the first Test here on a grassy red-soil pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday, he knows that crucial WTC points are at stake. India are currently in third place behind Australia and Sri Lanka, and with South Africa, the reigning WTC champions, arriving in Nov for two Tests in Guwahati and Kolkata, this is India’s chance to move ahead. For that, they will have to avoid the mistakes committed against New Zealand when they misread conditions in Bangalore and got bowled out for 46, and then out of panic, chose to play on square turners in Pune and Mumbai. The move backfired. And how. New captain. New regime. New WTC cycle. And the hosts seem to be in correction mode. They have prepared a red-soil pitch with a generous covering of grass, which allows them to attack their opponents with both pace and spin. West Indies seem handcuffed as their two gun pacers, Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph, both missed the India sojourn due to injuries. Their spin attack is inexperienced and the heavy lifting will have to be done by skipper Roston Chase and Jomel Warrican. That has probably emboldened India to lay out the surface that they have. With the pitch mostly under covers because of sporadic rains in the city, India will be tempted to play both Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. Red-soil pitches eventually start turning big as the match wears on, and India are well-stocked in the spin department. If they stick to their template of packing the side with all-rounders and take the brave option of batting wicket-keeperbatter Dhruv Jurel at No. 5, they can have the best of both worlds as it allows them the option of playing four spinners in Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav. Mind you, Sundar, Jadeja, and Axar are all extremely good batters too, and Kuldeep, who had a long net with the bat, is a good defensive batter as we saw in Ranchi vs England in March 2024, when he and Jurel stitched a series-turning partnership. West Indies find themselves in an unenviable position. They lost three home Tests in the new WTC cycle to Australia, which included a morale-sapping 27 all out in Kingston, Jamaica.

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Kuldeep did not get a game in the five Tests in England as the team curiously chose to value notional batting depth more than the striking ability that a left-arm wrist spinner can potentially provide. Expect that to change here. India would like to zero in on the No. 3 spot as it became something of a musical chairs event in England. Sai Sudharsan is the favourite to bat there, but the Tamil Nadu batter was seen having treatment on the shoulder and did not bat on match-eve. If he misses out, Devdutt Padikkal could be a suitable replacement. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul are a lock-in, having prospered in England with skipper Gill expected to bat at No. 4, where he scored 754 runs in England.

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