3 uncapped players India must pick for their next Test series against West Indies
After another heartbreak in an ICC final, Team India will now be keen to kickstart their next World Test Championship (WTC) campaign with a lot of positivity. The team will be on a break after the WTC loss against Australia, following which they will travel to West Indies.
This tour will include two Test matches, three ODIs, and five T20 internationals. Two T20 internationals could also take place in the United States of America at the Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida.
India have the opportunity to hand debuts to a number of young talents. Batting has been a constant worry for the side right through the last cycle and this is where the side would want new faces to come in and make an impression.
Here we take a look at three uncapped players India must pick for their next Test series against West Indies:
#3 Mukesh Kumar
India need to develop a new crop of fast bowlers and Mukesh Kumar fits the bill perfectly. He is similar to Scott Boland and keeps hitting the good areas to challenge batters. He was one of the standby players for the WTC final and has been on the fringes of the Indian team for a while now.
Mukesh made his first-class debut in 2015 and so far, he has picked up 149 wickets in the red-ball format at an average of 21.55. This also includes six five-wicket hauls. He has been constantly performing in first-class cricket and deserves to be included in the side since the likes of Umesh Yadav looked jaded in the final.
In December 2022, he impressed with a six-wicket haul for India A against Bangladesh in Sylhet and he could be a good inclusion in the side.
#2 Yashasvi Jaiswal
India certainly need a change of intent at the top of the order. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who lit up the IPL this year, has been a constant performer for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy. He is among the new breed of batters who do not mind going after the bowlers and shifting momentum even in red-ball cricket.
In 15 matches in first-class cricket, Jaiswal has amassed 1845 runs at an average of 80.31 and with a strike rate of around 60. He can be the X-factor at the top of the order and giving him a chance in the top order against West Indies will be a good move.
He certainly has the attention of the selectors since he too was named as one of the stand-by openers ahead of the WTC final.
#1 Sarfaraz Khan
One of the batters who should get the nod for the West Indies series is Sarfaraz Khan. The Mumbai batter has been one of the most prolific run-scorers in the Ranji Trophy for the last couple of seasons and can be a great addition to India’s middle order.
Sarfaraz was the leading run-scorer in Ranji Trophy 2021-22 season, where he scored 982 runs in six matches at an average of 122.75. He continued this prolific run in the 2022-23 season where he scored 556 runs with an impressive average of 92.66. He ranked third in terms of highest run-scorers for the team, following Ajinkya Rahane (634 runs) and Prithvi Shaw (595 runs).