3 reasons why India's bowling attack in Tests vs West Indies is weak
After yet another disappointing World Test Championship (WTC) final, India are all set to start their campaign in the next cycle with a tour to the West Indies.
The BCCI have announced the squads for the tour, in which the Indian team will be playing two Tests, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and a five-match T20 International series, starting on July 12.
The main highlight of this selection was the exclusion of Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav from the Test squad, with Ajinkya Rahane being re-appointed as the vice captain of the team.
The Test squad traveling to the West Indies will be led by skipper Rohit Sharma, with young guns like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and pacer Mukesh Kumar having been added, while Navdeep Saini is also back in the squad.
Here is the full squad for the Test series against the West Indies:
Test Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini
Another talking point from the squad is the bowling unit. India seem to lack the same quality and depth in that department that has been a feature of the squad since 2014-15.
On that note, let's take a look at three reasons why we believe that this Indian bowling attack is weak.
3 reasons why India's bowling attack in Tests vs West Indies is weak
#3. Inexperienced pace attack
When you have Mohammad Siraj, who has played 19 matches, as your lead pacer, you can understand how inexperienced your pace bowling attack is.
Jaydev Unadkat, despite being the oldest member of the pack, has not played much at this level, with Mukesh Kumar will be making his Test debut. Navdeep Saini will be making his Test comeback on this tour.
The quartet have played a combined 23 matches in the longest format and have a total of 59 wickets.
#2. Lacks pace
As a bowler in Test match cricket, you need discipline, but the need for pace and zip cannot be undermined at all.
It was the pace bowling trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav who used to rattle the opponents with their pace and were one of the main proponents of the Indian team's overseas Test success. They had all the ingredients to complement each other's abilities.
In this series, no bowler except Navdeep Saini has the ability to continuously bowl in the 140s on a regular basis. But the problem is that Saini is erratic with his lines more often than not.
Shardul and Mukesh bowl in the 130s, the latter being more consistent with his lengths.
#1. Conditions might not be ideal for two spinners
West Indies have been very unpredictable with their pitches in recent past, preparing grassy tracks for England while having hard decks for Australia on occasion.
But it's rare to see two spinners playing in an XI in the West Indies, unless the series is being played in the latter part of the summer with pitches getting dried out.
This brings us to a situation where only one of Ravindra Jadeja or Ravichandran Ashwin might play along with inexperienced pacers, which might not be a feasible situation for India.