India vs West Indies 2016: 5 things to look forwad to from India’s perspective

This series also brings its own challenges as the year ahead is full of ‘Tests’ for the team with a grueling series in whites against some top quality sides.

India are in West Indies where they are scheduled to play a four-Test series against the home side, starting July 21. The Indian cricket team will play their first Test series in 2016 as they have only featured in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) so far and will be eager to make a mark instantly against a relatively weaker Test team. Since MS Dhoni retired from the longer formats, the Indian team, under Virat Kohli, have beaten Sri Lanka at in their own den and demolished South Africa at home. This series also brings its own challenges as the year ahead is full of ‘Tests’ for the team with a grueling series in whites against some top quality sides. Here is a look at the 5 things to look forward to from the young Test side, led by Kohli: ALSO READ: FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs West Indies, 1st Test match

Kohli’s team combination: Let’s begin with the batting. The issue with Team India not performing in the ODIs as per expectations, since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, is that they do not have a fixed and settled batting order,order; especially their middle-order is shuffling a lot. In Tests, they have a potent batting line-up but there are quite a few contenders for batting purpose in this series. KL Rahul, who has been in ominous form with the bat, has to either compete for a spot in the top-order or the middle-order along with Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma. His current form gives him an edge. Logically, Rohit should sit out but he has been preferred over Pujara in the recent past. The openers will be Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, or Rahul may replace the latter since Dhawan is consistently inconsistent. Problem does not end here. No. 3 position is up for grabs. Yes, it is not entirely Pujara’s yet. He has had problems with the ball getting past his stumps in the past. So will he bat there? Or again the team would stick to Rohit in that position? This is most unlikely to happen, but can be imposed. Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane will bat at No. 4 and No. 5 respectively.

In the bowling arena, Kohli likes to go with five5 bowlers as he rightly believes that it is the bowlers who win matches more than batsmen, especially in overseas. He likes to have 5 five genuine bowlers who can give him 20 wickets. Ishant Sharma has been preferred in the longer formats and will spearhead the pace attack. Who else? Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a terrific Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016. Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur are the other options available as well. One may play among them.
What about spinners? India have three spinners in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra. One may sadly miss out and this will be a tough call for Kohli to make. He also has Stuart Binny at his disposal. If the track assists the seamers, he may go for four bowlers and may have to get Binny in instead of Jadeja or Mishra. ALSO READ: Shardul Thakur anticipates slower wickets on West Indies tour

Anil Kumble as coach: This is the first series of Kumble as the head coach of Team India. He would be eager to have keep a close tab on his boys and make amends accordingly. He has introduced a few new things since he has taken over the commands of the team. What will be his strategy with Kohli? How he gels up with the young boys and how will they perform under him will be scrutinised closely. If the team starts well, the cricketing arena will see as to what new things Kumble tries out with the team. In hindsight, if they are challenged by West Indies, how he holds the team together will be up for grabs. The biggest issue will be to sort out the bowling department for the team which now depends on Kumble’s shoulders entirely.

Ravichandran Ashwin in overseas: When the team turns up in whites, the limelight shifts to Ashwin more than it does in limited-overs. Ashwin has done remarkably well in the last one year. He has improved in his bowling and always looks to improve. He dismantled Sri Lanka and South Africa in 2015 and again the onus will be on him to deliver the goods for the team. This time he needs to prove again as it is an overseas assignment for the team. His away record stands at 36.66 with 50 scalps in 13 matches. He would want to perform as he has way too much potential that this. The inexperienced West Indies line-up would not be the ideal batters to judge his performance overseas, but if he does not, he would be criticised screwed in any case. He has a knack of rising from the ashes so all eyes will be on him to silence his critics.

Mohammed Shami: Firstly, Shami should be applauded for playing the World Cup in 2015 when he was not fully fit and manage to be in the tTop five5 wicket-takers’ list. After that, he could not play more due to a year-long injury. He was scheduled to comeback during India’s tour of Australia 2016, but injury again forced him out of the series. He would be most eager and determined to comeback and perform for his side. The worse thing in cricket is that no one remembers what a player did for his nation a year back. A living example is Yuvraj Singh.
Shami knows what he did in the past is the past now so he needs to start afresh and with a bang against the same opponents he debuted against in whites. He has not looked in rhythm since his arrival in international cricket but may get a game later on in the series. How will he fare for the team? It is important from the team’s perspective as he is quick learner and can be India’s leader in the coming years. ALSO READ: IND vs WI 2016: Will Shami rise from ashes or perish in his comeback series?

Shardul Thakur: Every new comer in the Indian team knows the fans back home will be keeping a close watch on him when he/she takes on the field. Thakur has been included in the national team for the first time after a few good seasons under his belt for Maharashtra Mumbai Ranji team. The start determines how a bowler can perform for the team but in India’s perspective it has always been how well he holds up in the coming years with injures and pace.
He would like to be given an honest run before he is judged and even if he gets a few chances, he would take it to showcase his pace attack, temperament in unfamiliar conditions and like to make a case for himself before a long home series lined up for India. This is an ideal preparation series for the team before they return back to host some of the big teams in the longer formats.
That said, West Indies have had a great run in 2016 in the shorter formats, so they may also turn things for themselves in Test cricket and India will like to take them lightly at their own risk.

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