Team India are back at the comforts of home to take on the West Indies in a two-Test series, starting with the opener in Ahmedabad on Thursday, October 2. The series marks Shubman Gill's first home assignment as Test captain, following his excellent maiden series in England.While India start as overwhelming favorites against the West Indies, they will do well to remember their shocking 0-3 defeat to New Zealand the last time they played a Test series at home.Captaincy on the field and batting aside, Gill has several challenging decisions to make when it comes to selecting India's playing 11 for the first Test against the West Indies. First on the list is selecting one of Kuldeep Yadav or Axar Patel as the third spin-bowling option behind Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.Assuming India play two pacers, along with Jadeja and Sundar, one of Kuldeep or Axar will warm the bench in the Ahmedabad Test against the Caribbean side.Here, we deepdive into the key factors on who between Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel should be in India's playing 11 for the first West Indies Test.#1 Kuldeep Yadav or Axar Patel - Who is ahead in the pecking order?Neither Kuldeep Yadav nor Axar Patel featured in India's most recent Test series in England. However, the former was part of the squad and came close to potentially breaking into the 11 for some of the matches.Furthermore, when India last played at home in a Test series against New Zealand, Kuldeep played ahead of Axar despite both spinners being part of the squad.Even as Kuldeep was out with an injury after the first Test of the series, India opted for Jadeja, Sundar, and Ravichandran Ashwin in the remaining two games. Thus, the pecking order clearly favors Kuldeep over Axar when it comes to the spin-bowling department overall or at home.Edge: Kuldeep Yadav#2 Better fitTeam India are almost certain to play two finger spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar in their playing 11 in the Ahmedabad clash. With that assumption, including another finger spinner in Axar Patel might feel redundant.Furthermore, Axar is a near carbon copy of Jadeja, highly accurate and reliant on the surface for a majority of their wickets. On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav offers a greater variety with his left-arm chinaman bowling style.The 30-year-old is also a more attacking bowler, making him more effective on flatter pitches. With the uncertainty surrounding the Ahmedabad wicket, India will be better served playing the more versatile and attacking Kuldeep over Jadeja 2.0 in Axar.The only case in which Axar becomes a better choice over Kuldeep is if India field all three of their specialist pacers, making the presence of a reliable batter at No. 8 paramount. Yet, in the rare case of the pitch being seamer-friendly, the hosts might also go in with only two spinners in Jadeja and Sundar.Edge: Kuldeep Yadav#3 The Form and Numbers gameWhen it comes to overall Test bowling numbers at home, Axar Patel holds a slight edge over Kuldeep Yadav. While the latter himself boasts excellent numbers with 38 wickets in nine matches at an average of 23.39, the former has picked up 47 scalps in 12 games at an incredible average of 18.65.Yet, a closer look reveals Axar enjoyed most of his success in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In his last six home Tests in 2023 and 2024, the left-arm spinner has struggled with only eight wickets at an average of almost 50.Meanwhile, Kuldeep's recent form has been the polar opposite, with the wily spinner picking up 22 wickets in his five Tests at home in 2024 at an average of 23.09.The flashpoint moment between the two came in India's home series against England at the start of last year. India lost the series opener in Hyderabad, with Kuldeep not featuring in the 11 and Axar picking up only three wickets across the two innings.However, with the former included in the following four Tests, India won all of them convincingly, with Kuldeep bagging 19 scalps. Axar played only the first two Tests and was dropped, owing to his underwhelming bowling performances.While Axar wins by a massive margin over Kuldeep with the bat in home Tests, Team India should prioritize their bowling, given Jadeja and Sundar's all-round prowess.Edge: Kuldeep YadavVerdict: Kuldeep Yadav holds a significant edge over Axar Patel in terms of form and fit and should play in the first Test against the West Indies.