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Indian skipper Rohit Sharma made one forced change to the playing XI for the second Test against West Indies at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad. Shardul Thakur had to sit out of the contest due to a niggle. In Thakur’s absence Mukesh Kumar got his debut cap.
The Gopalganj-born pacer has had a good record in First-Class cricket. Playing for Bengal and Rest of India, he has 149 wickets from 39 appearances including six fifers.
“We were looking to bat first. Looks nice and sunny as well. It's going to get slower and slower. Shardul has pulled up a niggle. He's not fit. Mukesh Kumar is going to make his debut. He has worked hard in the domestic cricket. There's lot of memories, the rivalry between the two teams has always been exciting to watch. It's always been a tough tour, you have to work hard. Even in the last game, we had to work hard, especially the batters. Hopefully we get the result we are expected of,” Rohit said after losing the toss.
West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and opted to field first. Brathwaite made two changes to his side including debut for Kirk McKenzie. The 22-year-old from Jamaica has scored 591 runs from nine games at an average of 39.40 including one century and four half-centuries.
“Shannon comes back into the team. There's some moisture on the pitch. McKenzie makes his debut today, he's ready and raring to go. Bowling-wise we were okay. The first game is gone, we got to be mentally ready for the challenge. We had a few chats, we got to believe in ourselves. We came a long way, the matches between India and West Indies. Recently we haven't won, looking to change it,” Brathwaite said at the coin toss.
India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj
West Indies Playing XI: Kraigg Brathwaite(c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Jermaine Blackwood, Alick Athanaze, Joshua Da Silva(w), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican, Shannon Gabriel
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