4 Indian players for whom the Test series against West Indies is very crucial
India went to England with a lot of expectations but ended up losing the series 4-1 to England. While Virat Kohli was consistent throughout the series with the bat, others have only shown a few flashes of brilliance.
After the completion of England tour, a Kohli-less Indian team travelled to the United Arab Emirates and successfully defended their title by winning the Asia Cup for the seventh time. A day after India defeated Bangladesh in a thrilling finale, BCCI announced the Indian squad to that will be playing the two-Test series against West Indies.
While Virat returned to the national side after a well-deserved break, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan faced the axe. To replace the left-handed opener, India have added another young opener in the form of Mayank Agarwal to their arsenal. In addition to Agarwal, KL Rahul and Prithvi Shaw are the other two openers in the Indian squad.
On the other hand, India have made quite a few changes to their pace department. While Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya were unfit, the selectors decided to rest Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. Mohammad Siraj who has been performing exceptionally in the domestic circuit has got a maiden national call-up.
India's 15-member squad: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.
Also read: 10 things you didn't know about Prithvi Shaw, the youngest member of the Indian Test squad
While the selectors have opted to give chances to youngsters, a few senior players need to step up in order to retain their place for the Indian tour of Australia. Let us take a look at the four senior players for whom the West Indies series is very crucial.
#4 Umesh Yadav
Following the debut of Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav has played just two matches for India. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah out of the side with injury niggles, Umesh Yadav got an opportunity in the first Test against England. Of all the pacemen in the Indian team, he was the least impressive of the lot and will need to step up in his game to be a regular in the side with Bhuvi, Bumrah, and Ishant already leading the attack.
In the only Test against Afghanistan, Yadav managed the figures to take 4 wickets in 13 overs but that doesn't make a big statement as the Afghans were playing their first ever Test match. With Umesh expected to lead the pace attack alongside Mohammad Shami, he has to perform exceptionally well in the two Tests against Windies or else he might have to stick to the bench even in the tour of Australia.
Also read: 2 unlucky players who should have made it to the Indian Test squad against West Indies