West Indies' playing XI for the first Test against Pakistan has seen them leave out wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva, in favour of debutant Amir Jangoo.

West Indies' playing XI for the first Test against Pakistan has seen them leave out wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva, in favour of debutant Tevin Imlach.

Both sides announced their playing XIs on the eve of the match – the hosts doing so first, naming just one specialist pacer as well as a debutant opening batter in the lineup.

In a series which is set to have no bearing on the World Test Championship final, West Indies have also handed a debut to wicketkeeper-batter Tevin Imlach.

West Indies drop vice-captain Joshua da Silva

Imlach has come into the playing XI to replace Joshua da Silva, West Indies' incumbent gloveman and current vice-captain of the Test team. In fact, this marks the first time that da Silva will miss a Test match since he debuted at Wellington in December 2020 – a run of 33 consecutive games.

The 26-year-old da Silva had made a solid start to his Test career with four 40-plus scores in his first six innings, batting primarily at No.7 and No.8. However, his form dipped soon after, with six single-digit scores in his next 10 innings.

Also read: Pakistan pick three frontline spinners and debutant for first West Indies Test

Da Silva scored 82* and 49 in consecutive Tests against England last summer, but has since scored just 92 runs in nine innings, averaging 11.5 with the bat in a lineup which is a tad unreliable at best.

The 28-year-old Imlach who is replacing da Silva, is the first-choice wicketkeeper for Guyana. While he has a modest overall record in first-class cricket, averaging 32.26 from 22 games, Imlach has been in good form of late. In the 2023-24 domestic first-class season, he amassed 485 runs at 53.88, including hitting two of his three centuries in the format. Imlach also had a good Super50 Cup, West Indies' premier domestic List A tournament, where he scored 233 runs from six innings at 58.25.

With da Silva going through an extended slump and Imlach having pushed the doors down in not one but two formats, West Indies have little to lose and much to gain in checking out how the Guyanese keeper goes at the international level.

Playing XIs: Pakistan v West Indies, first Test

Pakistan

Shan Masood (c), Mohammad Huraira, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Abrar Ahmed.

West Indies

Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Mikyle Louis, Keacy Carty, Kavem Hodge, Alick Athanaze, Justin Greaves, Tevin Imlach, Kevin Sinclair, Gudakesh Motie, Jomel Warrican, Amir Jangoo, Jayden Seales.

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