5 lessons learnt from India’s tour of West Indies 2017

Kuldeep impressed in his debut series

India’s tour of West Indies did not exactly turn out the way everyone had thought it would. What should have been a walk in the park for the Men in Blue became a slightly tricky road. Thankfully, skipper Virat Kohli took matters into his own hands in the final game to secure an ODI series win.

India went on to win the five-match ODI series 3-1, a comprehensive win in the end. However, the one-off T20 match showed that work was still needed to be done. Yes, Evin Lewis scored a masterful hundred to take away the match, but it was the Indians who were at fault with their dropped catches and missed opportunities.

With the World Cup coming up in less than two years’ time, this series was perceived as a chance for the youngsters to show their mettle and to find the right team combination. Indeed, Kuldeep Yadav was handed his debut, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammed Shami, and Dinesh Karthik were given opportunities to play in the first team. But did they do enough?

Here are the five important lessons that we learnt from this tour.

#5 Kuldeep Yadav can deliver the goods

Following his spectacular Test debut against Australia, Kuldeep Yadav was on the fringes of making a debut in ODIs. However, he had to wait until the West Indies tour for his opportunity and he has taken to the challenge like a duck to water! The youngster finished as the highest wicket-tacker in his very first series by picking up eight wickets (the first game was washed out).

On pitches where Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin looked bleak, Kuldeep shone with his left-arm wrist spin. He had the West Indies batsmen on their toes with his guile, constantly outwitting them with his trickery. It is the element of mystery that makes him a dangerous weapon in Kohli’s armoury. At 22, he still has a long way to go and will only get better with time.

Kuldeep’s arrival was probably the best thing that happened in this series. India needed an impact spinner, one who will take wickets, and Kuldeep fitted the bill perfectly.