The BCCI has declared the team of India to play the two Test series against West Indies. The team will be seeking to carry the momentum of the just concluded England series and score vital points in their world test championship campaign.
Following the announcement, chief selector Ajit Agarkar added that Akash Deep and Sarfaraz Khan did not get a chance because of injuries. He talked also about the future intentions of the selectors and how the squad needed to maintain a balance but support regular contributors.
India’s squad for the Test series vs West Indies: Shubman Gill (c), Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), N. Jagadeesan (wk), Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
In light of this, India’s team for the Test series against the West Indies has made three distinct statements.
3. This might be the end of the road for Karun Nair
Karun Nair had an opportunity to come back at the series against England, however, he did not impress. His batting was not very consistent with the exception of half a century, and that did not help him.
A good performer at the domestic level, however, at the international scene, India currently favours younger players who have greater potential in the long-term. At this point, it appears that Nair will not make it to the Test team again.
2. India’s Test core seems settled during the transition
After the retirements of senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, there were doubts about India’s Test future. However, the England tour showed that youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, and Devdutt Padikkal are ready to take charge.
Washington Sundar has added balance with both bat and ball, while Siraj and Prasidh Krishna impressed in the pace department. With Dhruv Jurel also proving his batting ability, the new core looks well-prepared for the next phase of Indian Test cricket.
1. India clearly don’t have solid backup opener options
One area of concern is India’s lack of backup openers. Agarkar mentioned that N Jagadeesan could fill in if needed, but he is not a natural choice at the top. This shows that India doesn’t have enough options waiting in the wings.
At present, KL Rahul and Jaiswal are the main openers, but both left-handers Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan are more suited to the middle order. With Rahul already past 30, India will need to groom reliable openers from domestic cricket for the future.
