India opt to bowl; Khaleel, Krunal handed T20 caps, three debutants for Windies

India vs West Indies 1st T20: India opted to bowl first. As many as five cricketers have made their debuts - three from West Indies and two from India.

India opted to bowl first after winning the toss in the first T20I against the Windies at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata

There are five cricketers making their debuts in this match – three from West Indies and two from India.

Surprising many India handed T20 caps to both Krunal Pandya and Khaleel Ahmed as Yuzvendra Chahal misses out. Bhuvneshwar Kumar too misses out because he was feeling ‘unwell’. Umesh Yadav replaced him in the playing XI.

"I'm excited because I made my IPL debut also under Rohit's captaincy. The good thing about his captaincy is he lets you express yourself freely, whether batting or bowling. I'm ready to play wherever the team wants me to, it's a team game after all. I don't think whether I'm a batting allrounder or bowling allrounder. I just want to improve both,” said debutant Krunal.

Apart from the two debutants a lot of focus will be on India's keeper. For the first time, MS Dhoni is not part of an Indian T20 side at home. It will be Dinesh Karthik, who will be taking the gloves, meaning Rishabh Pant will continue to field as he was doing in the ODI series. 

Indian captain Rohit Sharma believed the dew is certain to play an important in the outcome of the match.

"The dew might turn out to be a factor as well, it's going to play a massive role, it has already started setting in, shouldn't be a big factor in the first innings, but might turn crucial during the second innings," said Rohit Sharma at toss time.

For West Indies, Oshane Thomas, Fabian Allen, Khari Pierre are making their T20 debuts. Test and ODI captain Jason Holder was not included in the playing XI. "We have a few debutants and some senior players as well, we just need to enjoy ourselves, express ourselves and take on the challenge as a family," said West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite.

Playing XI

Windies: Rovman Powell, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Denesh Ramdin(w), Kieron Pollard, Carlos Brathwaite(c), Keemo Paul, Fabian Allen, Khary Pierre, Oshane Thomas

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant(w), Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, K Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav