The calming vibes of the prestigious whites and red-ball cricket regain the centre stage with the start of the two-Test series between India and the West Indies on Thursday, October 2. The Shubman Gill-led Indian side resumes their ICC World Test Championship campaign with a pair of Tests in Ahmedabad and Delhi.
The first Test against the Calypso Kings marks the beginning of a new era. Nearly a year after a disastrous 3-0 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand shook Indian cricket hard and hastened the exits of their declining greats, India’s newlook outfit strives to rebuild a fortress of similar strength and resolve at home as their predecessors did.
Gill’s men have an opportunity to also add on their gains from their stellar performances in England,
where they held the Bazball juggernaut to 2-2 draw despite inexperience in their ranks. India have made quite a few changes to the squad that travelled to England for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, dropping the struggling Karun Nair and backup opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, while bringing in Devdutt Padikkal and Axar Patel.
Pacer Akash Deep has also been excluded while to Rishabh Pant’s recovery from injury continue with the wicketkeeper-batter replaced by Narayanan Jagadeesan.
For Padikkal, it will be a chance to settle in a middle-order role at No 5 or 6 alongside talented No.3 Sai Sudharsan, who had an inconsistent run in England but has been persisted with by the selectors. The absence of Pant also presents a great opportunity for Dhruv Jurel to bolster his stocks. In the post-Ashwin era, how Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar respond to extra responsibility will also attract a lot of attention.
For West Indies, the challenge will be steep and the absence of their injured pace duo Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph would’ve added to their woes in what has been a difficult period for the Calypso Kings at the international stage across formats.
Ahmedabad Weather Forecast For IND vs WI Test
Day 1: 24 degrees Celsius to 29 degrees Celsius, Chances of showers in the afternoon
Day 2: 24 degrees Celsius to 31 degrees Celsius, generally cloudy
Day 3: 24 degrees Celsius to 31 degrees Celsius, mostly cloudy
Day 4: 24 degrees Celsius to 31 degrees Celsius, predictions of thunderstorms
Day 5: 23 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius, chances of thunderstorms
