3 Indians who need to be picked for the West Indies series
The Indian cricket team returns home after their triumphant escapade in the Middle East, to face the West Indians across all formats. While the ODI series would allow another opportunity to fine-tune the side before the World Cup, the Test series represents the start of India’s journey to restore lost pride.
Virat Kohli is expected to lead the team after being given a rest during the Asia Cup. The only injury doubts are Ishant Sharma and R Ashwin, who injured themselves on their adventures on English shores.
On their tour of England, the Indians performed better than the abject displays of 2011 and 2014, yet found themselves on the wrong side of a 4-1 scoreline. Apart from Virat Kohli, the much-vaunted Indian batting was found wanting.
Though Rahul and Pant redeemed themselves in the last innings, the failure to produce when the situation demanded, raised a lot of eyebrows. The Tests in England also shed light on the apparent weaknesses of several batsmen and with a series Down Under looming, India should try to offload the dead weight and bring on board some exciting talent.
Through this article, we would look at the players who need to be rewarded for their domestic performances and should find a place in the team.
Moving forward, the Indian think-tank needs to keep an eye on the future as well while focussing on the present. Here is a look at the players who deserve their time in the sun:
#3 Kuldeep Yadav
The left arm chinaman from Uttar Pradesh has only played a handful of Tests in his career. Having made a significant impact in his debut game against Australia, he was a peripheral figure in England, on a wicket conducive to seam bowling.
However, with India planning for the series in Australia, Kuldeep is an option they shouldn’t ignore. Traditionally, wrist spinners have extracted more out of the hard Australian wickets than finger spinners.
The likes of Warne and MacGill became household names by consistently bamboozling the batsmen Down Under. Additionally, Kuldeep displayed good temperament after getting dropped as he performed admirably in the India A games.
The Australians aren’t the most adept at playing wrist spin. Thus, the Indian team needs to have Kuldeep firing on all cylinders when the series Down Under gets underway.
With the Test series against West Indies the last ‘red ball’ assignment before Australia, the time is right to bring Kuldeep back into the fold.
On India’s previous overseas tours, they have gone in with finger spinners and they haven’t produced the desired results. Hence, a shift from finger spinners to wrist spinners is essential and there is no man better than Kuldeep to spearhead that change.
The selection of Kuldeep against West Indies would certainly be a step in the right direction.