ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) — The West Indies test side is not the one-day international or Twenty20 teams.
Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite has stated the obvious in the leadup to their two-test series against India to try and contrast his team’s prospects against the failures of the national short-format sides.
The ODI team last week missed out on qualifying for the men’s World Cup for the first time. That followed the T20 side’s failure at the World Cup late last year to advance from the group stage for the first time in 15 years.
While urging Dominicans to buy tickets to the first test starting on Wednesday at Windsor Park, Brathwaite said his team has to play its part.
“We got to show a lot of fight and it starts with the attitude,” he said. “Even when you chase the balls to the boundary, it’s all about your attitude how you want to stop it before it reaches the boundary. We just want to show fight.”
West Indies haven’t lost a home test series in two years. But they have won only once at spin-friendly Windsor Park, 10 years ago.
Windsor Park hasn’t staged a test since 2017 but spinners have always been to the fore. Seven of the eight best test innings figures there were by spinners. West Indies’ decision to replace injured spinner Gudakesh Motie with two in right-armer Rahkeem Cornwall and leftie Jomel Warrican suggests both could play. Their last tests were in 2021 in Sri Lanka.
The squad also includes uncapped batters Kirk McKenzie, an opener, and Alick Athanaze, a Dominican, who each hit two half-centuries on the A tour of Bangladesh in May. Athanaze added a 45-ball 65 in his only West Indies ODI last month in the United Arab Emirates.
Team performance mentor Brian Lara liked their style and attitude, but added in regard to them fulfilling their promise, “It may take some time.”
When the ODI team bombed in the World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe, allrounder Jason Holder and fellow pacer Alzarri Joseph were brought home early to prepare for India’s monthlong all-formats tour.
India look set to debut Yashasvi Jaiswal as the top order replacement for No. 3 batter Cheteshwar Pujara.
Pujara was India’s second highest run-scorer in the last World Test Championship cycle but he appears to have been made the scapegoat for India being bowled out twice in the final last month by Australia at the Oval. Mumbai opening batter Jaiswal, aged 21, has a first-class average of 80.21 from 26 innings, with nine hundreds.
Fast bowler Umesh Yadav was also dropped, and replaced by Navdeep Saini, who played two tests on the 2021 tour of Australia.
Mohammed Shami was rested, leaving Mohammed Siraj as the most experienced fast bowler with 19 tests. The combined total of the other four seamers — Saini, Thardul Shakur, Jaydev Unadkat, uncapped Mukesh Kumar — was 13 tests.
India’s non-selection of No. 1-ranked test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin for the WTC final caused a stir. But Windsor Park being partial to slow bowling could make Ashwin a factor beside spin allrounder Ravindra Jadeja.
India have won the last four series in the Caribbean. The second test in Port of Spain next week will be the 100th between the teams.
“We are not underestimating West Indies,” India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said. “Their performance at home in tests has been good in the last one to two years. We’ve had good preparation in Barbados before coming in, so we’re well covered. It’s all about starting well now.”
