Kohli, who was rested from the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2018 in UAE, will return to international action with the Test series beginning on October 4 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot.
However, there was no place in the team for opener Shikhar Dhawan, who struggled in the Tests against England. Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal have been included in the squad while fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been rested.
Murali Vijay, who was dropped for the final two Tests in England, was once again ignored while Dinesh Karthik and Karun Nair -- both of whom were in the India squad for the Test series in England -- have also been left out.
Karthik's omission means that Rishabh Pant is the only wicketkeeper in the India squad. Pant, who played the final three Tests in England, had impressed with the bat, scoring his maiden Test century in the final Test against England.
Hanuma Vihari, who also impressed on debut in the final Test at The Oval, London, also found a place in India's 15-man squad.
Meanwhile, Mayank Agarwal and Mohammed Siraj received a maiden India call-up.
"Taking stock of the recent workload, the selectors have decided to rest Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Both Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya were not considered for selection as they are yet to recover from their injuries," a BCCI statement read.
The second Test against the Windies will start on October 12 and will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
After the completion of the Test series, India will host the Windies for a five-match ODI series followed by a three-match T20I series.
Indian team for the Windies Tests: Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.
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