3 young Indian batters who should get a chance for Tests vs West Indies
Team India's underwhelming batting performance in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia was one of the major reasons why they were dealt a 209-run defeat. There has been a lot of talk about transition and its need in the Test side and the series against West Indies next month could be the start of it.
There's no doubt that India still need some experience in their batting so that the youngsters coming through the ranks will be groomed for the future. But there are some spots that could be up for grabs and there are some players making waves in domestic cricket that probably need a look in as soon as possible.
On that note, here are three players who probably deserve to recieve their maiden Test cap for India during the West Indies series:
#3 Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad has grown in stature over the past few seasons with consistent performances in the IPL as well as in domestic cricket. While he has already made his T20I and ODI debut for India, Test cricket probably seems to be the format where Gaikwad's technically sound approach could make him a prolific run-scorer.
In 28 first-class games, Gaikwad has scored 1941 runs with nine Test hundreds to his name. While Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill might continue to open in West Indies, India could try Ruturaj Gaikwad in the No.3 spot. They could even make him open and push Gill into the middle order, something the team management might be interested in with respect to the future.
#2 Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal has already made significant contributions in whtie-ball cricket for many to believe that he deserves a maiden T20I call-up. However, the southpaw has also been in incredible form in domestic cricket for Mumbai and has piled on the runs whenever he has gotten an opportunity.
In just 15 first-class games, Jaiswal averages an incredible 80.21 with 1845 runs to his name. To have nine hundreds in just 15 games speaks a lot about the ability of Jaiswal to bat for long periods of time, a trait that the Indian batting desperately needs. One shouldn't be surprised if Jaiswal makes his Test debut next month after what he has achieved in domestic cricket.
#1 Sarfaraz Khan
Arguably the one prolific performer in domestic cricket that needs no introduction and someone who is an obvious choice in this list is Mumbai's Sarfaraz Khan. He has been almost scoring runs for fun in domestic cricket for the past two seasons and many believe his Test debut is overdue.
Sarfaraz wasn't considered in the Bangladesh Tests as well as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home earlier this year despite injuries to key players like Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. However, with a new WTC cycle to begin, the wait for that India cap might end for the Mumbai batter in the series against the West Indies.