New WTC cycle starts for India with West Indies challenge

An Indian cricket ecosystem in transition faces its latest challenge in the form of two Test matches in the West Indies, where no Indian men’s team has lost a series since 2002. Where in usual circumstances an Indian team heading to the Caribbean to play the hosts in for a short Test series such as this would be met with dismissive tones, in the summer of 2023 the situation is different. This Indian cricket team is nearing breaking point in Test cricket, with too many hollow victories achieved on home soil and just not enough success overseas to justify the team’s No 1 Test status or its presence in the recent World Test Championship final at The Oval.

A new WTC cycle starts July 12 with the first Test between India and West Indies at Dominica, and the challenges facing Rohit Sharma’s men are multiple. One, they have to prove that regularly winning Test matches outside of Asia is doable. Two, they have to identify a No 3 for the future, given that Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped. Three, there is the need to locate and groom the next Test captain, given that Rohit is 36, injury prone and short of quality runs outside of India. Ajinkya Rahane was made the vice-captain for this tour after recently returning to the Test team after 18-odd months, but he cannot be the man to lead India in the next WTC cycle, should Rohit make way. A younger man must be groomed, and it must start in the West Indies.

Then there are the matters of deciding who the best wicketkeeper-batsman is until Rishabh Pant makes a successful comeback; which pace bowler the team can rely on should Jasprit Bumrah not be able to make a return to Tests; which opener can be entrusted with taking the mantle through this new WTC cycle and beyond; and, whisper it softly, who the next No 4 is whenever the time comes for Virat Kohli to vacate it.

The answers to these questions may not present themselves in just two Test matches versus West Indies, but the planning and forward thinking has to begin now.

Yashasvi Jaiswal has ticked the correct boxes en route to his first India call-up. At 21, he averages 80 in first-class cricket with nine centuries from 15 matches and offers a left-hand option at the top. He can also bat at No 3, should the Indian team management prefer not to pair him with Rohit. Ruturaj Gaikwad joins Jaiswal as the other uncapped batsman in this Test squad, and is another who has to be kept in mind for the 2023-25 WTC cycle.

Shubman Gill’s future lies in India’s Test middle order, many believe, and so if he is the man to take over from Kohli at No 4 then there is logic to slotting him down a spot to No 3 for these two Tests. As well as seeing his leadership skills closely, given that he is the most obvious candidate to take over in the future.

KS Bharat has kept wickets in each Test match since Pant’s accident, but his batting has been very disappointing. He is the superior wicketkeeper in the squad, but the uncapped Ishan Kishan offers more promise with the bat. On slower surfaces in the West Indies, with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja expected to bowl plenty of overs, who will the management turn to?

Now to the on-field challenges. While West Indies’ recent disappointment at the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers underlines their downfall, they are a different proposition in Test cricket, having beaten England at home. Short-pitched bowling has troubled this Indian team, and with Rohit and Kohli struggling and Gill coming off a poor WTC final there are enough weak areas for the West Indian quicks to attack.

Secondly, India’s fast-bowling ensemble for these two Test matches carries the combined experience of 88 wickets, with Mohammed Siraj the most successful of the lot with 52. Ashwin and Jadeja will be relied heavily upon, but if West Indies’ batting pulls above its weight, we could be in for a real contest. India’s most recent tours to the Caribbean – in 2016 and 2019 – saw them win four of six Tests because a few players delivered: Kohli, Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Ashwin (including two centuries), Umesh Yadav and Bumrah. In 2023, a team in transition and carrying players past their prime in Rohit, Kohli and Rahane has a stiff job in front of them.

On ranking (West Indies are eighth) and experience the Indian team are favourites, but this series won’t be a pushover one.