The India management has reportedly asked for wickets with pace and bounce during the two-Test series against the West Indies which begins in Rajkot on Thursday.
The Indian team has rested fast bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah for the series, while Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya have failed to recover from their ankle and back injuries respectively. The world’s No1 Test team also dropped experienced openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay, selecting a team filled with fresh faces like Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammed Siraj and Hanuma Vihari.
India will be low on confidence after their 4-1 Test series defeat in England, while the West Indies have won three out of their last five Tests. However, the focus of the Indian team is already on the tour of Australia which begins just 10 days after the West Indies series ends on November 11.
With one eye on the tour Down Under and the lack of preparation time for it, India have asked for pacy wickets during the two Test series against the West Indies, according to the Press Trust of India.
Windies pacer Shannon Gabriel is in peak form.
Jason Holder’s team will be pleased if it is in fact true as they have a fine pace attack to exploit helpful conditions. Pace spearhead Shannon Gabriel has been one of the best performing fast bowlers in the world in the last two seasons, with his 72 wickets from 17 Tests placing him sixth on the list of most-successful fast bowlers.
The Windies also have the experienced Kemar Roach who has formed a fine pace bowling pair, with captain Holder completing a potent pace-bowling trio.