India begin a new season where Test cricket is going to be a major focus. The tour of the West Indies includes four Tests, the first of which will be held in Antigua on Thursday, and it will provide the Indians with an opportunity to formulate plans for the upcoming season that sees them play 13 Tests at home.
It’s a commendable attempt by an Indian board keen to create a dedicated home season on the lines of those in England and Australia. And the Caribbean tour is the perfect preparation for it.
The West Indies squad for the first Test has only a handful of experienced Test cricketers in captain Jason Holder, Marlon Samuels, Devendra Bishoo and Darren Bravo. While the batting of Samuels and Bravo will be critical for the West Indies, the leg-spin of Bishoo will be the most, and probably only, potent weapon in their bowling arsenal.
It is not the most fearsome West Indies team, even among contemporary sides, but the Indians should not take them lightly.
West Indies cricket has enjoyed a revival in fortunes, albeit in limited overs cricket, with three world titles – the men’s and women’s World T20 and the U-19 World Cup – under its belt. There is a general air of positivity around West Indies cricketers as they have learned to succeed despite the never ending issues with their board.
That self belief is likely to travel with them in the Test arena and the Indians should be careful as they themselves are not Test heavyweights yet.
Pace bowlers not making much impact... https://t.co/rHIMcPMvvw
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) July 16, 2016
Then we have the conditions. Pitches in the West Indies have started to resemble those in the subcontinent and spinners will have the bigger role to play. No wonder the Indians are consider- ing playing three spinners.
But the Indians should remember that playing three frontline spinners can cause imbalance in their side. If Kohli does go ahead with fielding Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra in the opening Test, he will have to sacrifice a batsman or a fast bowler.
And since the West Indies don’t have a threatening pace attack, I would like to see five bowlers because taking 20 wickets cheaply on slow wickets will be a tougher task than scoring on them.
Another aspect the Indians should remember is that fast bowlers have a role to play even on flatter wickets. Reverse swing is a major weapon which someone like Mohammad Shami is more than capable of exploiting. So having two pacers in the line-up should be seriously considered.
This is a situation Kohli will have to contend with in India as well because the team doesn’t have a quality fast bowling all-rounder and they will have to constantly pick between a six batsmen, five bowler or a 7-4 line-up.
India will host England for five Tests this year and whatever they plan in the West Indies will give them a fair idea of what should work at home.
It is therefore important Kohli goes with a plan he can also look to implement against the Englishmen. If he thinks five bowlers will be needed against an established England lineup then he should go with the 6-5 plan in the West Indies.
Kohli and the Indians should prepare for much tougher assignments later in the year by sticking to a line-up they know they can rely upon. And if the West Indies do provide a tough challenge, as must be expected, the Indians will know exactly how good their long-term plan is.
The Pakistan board is trying its best to bring international cricket back to the country.
Security has been the biggest concern for teams as they continue to reject travelling to Pakistan, with the exception of Zimbabwe’s limited-overs tour in May 2015.
So in order to provide a more secure set-up for international teams, the PCB has bought four bulletproof buses as it looks to make the “best possible arrangements” in the country.
Zimbabwe toured amid heavy security.
“Having these bulletproof vehicles would play a major part in convincing teams about security arrangements,” an official was quoted as saying.
There is no harm in trying to put your best foot forward but the situation on the ground is such that a few bulletproof buses might not do the trick. Even during the Zimbabwe tour of 2015, there was a suicide attack near the Gaddafi Stadium during the second match and the third ODI went ahead after hectic negotiations.
Cricket teams will be wary of visiting Pakistan and a handful of bulletproof vehicles are unlikely to convince them to change their mind. Plus, talks of bulletproof buses in itself hardly paints a rosy picture.
The Pakistan board should be commended for trying its best but we all know the situation is much bigger than the mode of transportation.
