India announce final 12 for 2nd Test against West Indies

The Indian team's final 12 for the second Test of the ongoing two-match series has been announced.

Captained by Virat Kohli, the team has been retained as it is from the first Test, with pacer Shardul Thakur enlisted as the 12th man. The side has Rishab Pant doing the wicket-keeping duties, while Prithvi Shaw, after his debut in the first game, has been kept at the top.

Missing from the team sheet is Mayank Agarwal, Indian domestic circuit's prolific scorer, who got a maiden call-up to the team for the series. He was part of the original squad of 15, but did not make it to the playing XI for the second game, set to be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium starting October 12.

The other members from the squad, who missed out on getting a spot in the playing XI in the series are Mohammed Siraj and Hanuma Vihari. While Siraj is yet to make his Test debut, Vihari got his first taste of international cricket last month, against England.

There were reports that Kohli could sit out and make way for Mayank Agarwal, but the final 12 sees him continue his role as the captain of the side, having been rested for the Asia Cup recently.

Recently, former Indian spinner Murali Karthik had said that he would prefer resting Kohli at the expense of the uncapped Mayank.

“I was actually asking Virat to sit out. He is a champion player. Against West Indies, no disrespect to them. When you see a team like that playing at this level, then Mayank Agarwal is possibly one option which you can look at in place of Virat or Rahul,” Karthik had told Star Sports India.

India recorded a thumping win of innings and 272-run over the Windies in the first game, their biggest innings win in Test cricket. It also took skipper Virat Kohli to second spot on the list of most Test wins as captain of the Indian team.

India's starting 12 for the second Test:

Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw (, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur.

More to follow...