India will see a new opening combination ahead of the first Test against the West Indies which starts on Wednesday. India captain Rohit Sharma announced on Tuesday that talented youngster Shubman will bat Gill at number 3. In the past, Shubman has opened for India and has achieved great success in his 16-Test career so far. Sharma also announced that India will see a left-right opening combination. There will also be two spinners in the XI.
“Looking at the wicket (in Dominica), I believe we will be playing with two spinners and three sailors. In terms of batting positions, Shubman Gill will play at number 3. He wants to play at number 3 and that’s what he told coach Rahul Dravid. That he has played at number 3 and 4 all his career,” said Rohit Sharma during the press conference.
He also said they are happy to have a left-right opening combination after a long time. “It’s going to be an exciting time for Indian cricket. We’ve found the player and hopefully he will do well in the long run. We’ve been desperate for a southpaw opener for a long time,” said Sharma. Yashasvi Jaiswal is most likely to be that left-handed opener for India.
The Indian team is about to hit the transition button with the highly anticipated debut of Yashasvi Jaiswal in the two-Test series against an injured West Indies, who are looking for a path to redemption.
While the hosts, following their shock elimination from the ODI World Cup Qualifiers, would like to prove they are still relevant in world cricket, the Indian team is also beset by certain challenges.
Cheteshwar Pujara’s much-publicized exit has carved out a spot in India’s top flight and the immensely talented left-hander Mumbai will hope he lives up to his ‘name’ and promises to have played at a first-class level before being thrown. at the deep end of the pool.
Against a bowling attack made up of seasoned Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, Alazarri Joseph and Jason Holder, it will be a baptism of fire for young Jaiswal before facing South Africa at the end of the year at Rainbow Nation.
India’s new World Test Championship cycle will be a much tougher task compared to the previous two editions, when a regular team reached back-to-back finals on a first-class bowling unit.
But in the absence of an injured Jasprit Bumrah, who might find it difficult to play regular Test matches, and the able Mohammed Shami, rested for this series, the Indian strike would surely lack the sting that made the current team a world beater. .
Of the two others, who were part of the famous quartet, Ishant Sharma will make his commentary debut in this series, while Umesh Yadav at 36 may find it difficult to be recalled after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Hence, the five-man attack, led by 19-Test old Mohammed Siraj and supported by Shardul Thakur with nine long matches in his cat, looks very meagre in terms of experience compared to the tempo attack in the West Indies.
It will once again come down to how the West Indies compare to the trickery and artistry of Ravichandran Ashwin (474 wickets) and Ravindra Jadeja (268), who have nearly 750 Test scalps between them.
The choice of four bowlers is automatic, but picking one from Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat and Navdeep Saini may not be an easy feat.
Similarly, with two spinners in operation, Kona Bharath is a better bet behind the stumps than Ishan Kishan, but the former has borrowed time due to his showing for the wicket. Kishan’s flair and being left-handed cannot be ignored for long until Rishabh Pant gets his place back in the squad.
The Windsor Park has not hosted a test match in the last six years, but this is a form most Caribbean countries have been at their best in recent years.
It will be reckless on India’s part to think that West Indies’ World Cup qualifying show will affect their test match performance and that could be a bit of a misnomer.
In their pace attack the two main bowlers are Roach (261 wickets), a veteran of almost 15 years and Gabriel (164 wickets), who has been a powerful new ball enforcer. Gabriel doesn’t play white ball cricket.
On the Caribbean circuits, both are more than a handful and the ‘Holy Trinity’ of the Indian order of battle – skipper Rohit Sharma, the peerless Virat Kohli and comeback man Ajinkya Rahane, will have more than one job.
All three face different types of challenges.
For Rohit it is still a vague road and his future will only be clear after the 50-over World Cup. He needs to win this two-game streak first and also make a significant contribution with the bat to remain relevant in the longer post-World Cup format.
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