India has unveiled their lineup for the Test series against the West Indies, which also kicks off the cycle for the World Test Championship (WTC) from 2023 to 2025. The superstars of the 2010s will gradually leave the squad over the next few years to make room for younger players who will be the red-ball game’s future in the nation.
Cheteshwar Pujara, a seasoned top-order batter, would not be joining the tour as he was substituted with the young openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad. For example, Jaiswal’s performance in the Irani Cup final, where he followed up a first innings double century with another century against Madhya Pradesh, won him a shot at the Tests thanks to a remarkable average of above 80 in domestic first class cricket.
Other names, though, are left off the team list for the hitting positions. Indian supporters are outraged at Gaikwad’s selection in the team because they believe the selectors do not reward consistent domestic performances, instead favoring white-ball players who have excelled in the IPL and other tournaments.
India especially Abhimanyu Easwaran, a captain, has not been called up to the team despite evidence from his body of work that he was being developed into a player who could eventually replace Pujara at number three. For Bengal, Easwaran has participated in over 90 First-Class games, averaging 47 as the opener over that time. Easwaran was given his first call-up in December to replace Rohit Sharma on the tour of Bangladesh, but he now has to wait even longer despite being the best opening batter on the domestic circuit for almost a decade.
Sarfaraz Khan, a batter for Mumbai, is another player who supporters believe ought to have been called up. Sarfaraz has had three incredible Ranji seasons, scoring a ton of runs in Mumbai’s middle order. With his ability to strike both pace and spin, he would have been the perfect player to take Rishabh Pant’s place in the middle order’s counterattacking role. He has a strike rate of 70 and an average of 80 in First Class matches.
Suryakumar Yadav is another batter who has received some calls to play that destructive role for the Indian team. SKY made his Test debut against Australia at Nagpur earlier this year, but fell very early into his innings. However, he has shown class consistently in the T20 format, and the ability to take down any kind of bowling — something which would prove useful if the need to score quick runs of alleviate pressure arises.
Reappointment of Ajinkya Rahane as India’s vice-captain in Test matches
There will be some concerns about India’s starting lineup for the Tests in the West Indies, especially over who fills Pujara’s vacant number three spot. The middle order has changed as a result of significant injuries to Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Pant in addition to those to Pant. Ajinkya Rahane has returned to the Test team and KS Bharat is filling in behind the wickets.
Mohammed Shami has received a break from bowling after a heavy workload since the year’s beginning due to Jasprit Bumrah’s injury, while Umesh Yadav has also been dropped. Both Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini receive their first calls to the national team following their historic tours to Australia in 2021.
The first of two Test matches between India and the Windies will be contested at Windsor Park in Dominica from July 12 to July 17.
Source- HT
