Join Dafanews today and get to enjoy our Free to Play Games.
  • Coming Soon!

  • Join Dafanews

    Create Account

    Account and Contact Details

    Password strength:
    +00
    • Afghanistan+93
    • Aland Islands+35818
    • Albania+355
    • Algeria+213
    • Andorra+376
    • Angola+244
    • Anguilla+1264
    • Antarctica+672
    • Argentina+54
    • Armenia+374
    • Aruba+297
    • Australia+61
    • Austria+43
    • Azerbaijan+994
    • Bahamas+1242
    • Bahrain+973
    • Bangladesh+880
    • Barbados+1246
    • Belarus+375
    • Belize+501
    • Benin+229
    • Bermuda+1441
    • Bhutan+975
    • Bolivia+591
    • Bonaire Saint Eustatius and Saba+599
    • Bosnia and Herzegovina+387
    • Botswana+267
    • Bouvet Island+55
    • Brazil+55
    • British Indian Ocean Territory+246
    • British Virgin Islands+1284
    • Brunei Darussalam+673
    • Bulgaria+359
    • Burkina Faso+226
    • Burundi+257
    • Cambodia+855
    • Cameroon+237
    • Canada+1
    • Cape Verde+238
    • Cayman Islands+1345
    • Central African Republic+236
    • Chad+235
    • Chile+56
    • China+86
    • Christmas Island+618
    • Cocos (Keeling) Islands+618
    • Colombia+57
    • Comoros+269
    • Congo+242
    • Congo The Democratic Republic of the+243
    • Cook Islands+682
    • Costa Rica+506
    • Cote D'Ivoire+225
    • Croatia+385
    • Cuba+53
    • Czech Republic+420
    • Denmark+45
    • Djibouti+253
    • Dominica+1767
    • Dominican Republic+1809
    • Ecuador+593
    • Egypt+20
    • El Salvador+503
    • Equatorial Guinea+240
    • Eritrea+291
    • Estonia+372
    • Ethiopia+251
    • Falkland Islands (Malvinas)+500
    • Faroe Islands+298
    • Fiji+679
    • Finland+358
    • French Guiana+594
    • French Polynesia+689
    • French Southern Territories+262
    • Gabon+241
    • Gambia+220
    • Georgia+995
    • Germany+49
    • Ghana+233
    • Gibraltar+350
    • Greece+30
    • Greenland+299
    • Grenada+1473
    • Guadeloupe+590
    • Guatemala+502
    • Guernsey+441481
    • Guinea+224
    • Guinea-Bissau+245
    • Guyana+592
    • Haiti+509
    • Heard Island and McDonald Islands+0
    • Holy Sea (Vatican City State)+379
    • Honduras+504
    • Hongkong+852
    • Hungary+36
    • Iceland+354
    • India+91
    • Indonesia+62
    • Ireland+353
    • Isle of Man+441624
    • Italy+39
    • Jamaica+1876
    • Jersey+44
    • Jordan+962
    • Kazakhstan+7
    • Kenya+254
    • Kiribati+686
    • Korea Republic of+82
    • Kuwait+965
    • Kyrgyzstan+996
    • Lao People's Democratic Republic+856
    • Latvia+371
    • Lebanon+961
    • Lesotho+266
    • Liberia+231
    • Libyan Arab Jamahiriya+218
    • Liechtenstein+423
    • Lithuania+370
    • Luxembourg+352
    • Macedonia+389
    • Madagascar+261
    • Malawi+265
    • Malaysia+60
    • Maldives+960
    • Mali+223
    • Malta+356
    • Martinique+596
    • Mauritania+222
    • Mauritius+230
    • Mayotte+262
    • Mexico+52
    • Moldova Republic of+373
    • Monaco+377
    • Mongolia+976
    • Montenegro+382
    • Montserrat+1664
    • Morocco+212
    • Mozambique+258
    • Myanmar+95
    • Namibia+264
    • Nauru+674
    • Nepal+977
    • Netherlands+31
    • Netherlands Antilles+31
    • New Caledonia+687
    • New Zealand+64
    • Nicaragua+505
    • Niger+227
    • Nigeria+234
    • Niue+683
    • Norfolk Island+6723
    • Norway+47
    • Oman+968
    • Pakistan+92
    • Palestinian Territory Occupied+970
    • Panama+507
    • Papua New Guinea+675
    • Paraguay+595
    • Peru+51
    • Pitcairn Islands+64
    • Poland+48
    • Qatar+974
    • Reunion+262
    • Romania+40
    • Russian Federation+7
    • Rwanda+250
    • Saint Barthelemy+590
    • Saint Helena Ascension and Tristan da Cunha+290
    • Saint Kitts and Nevis+1869
    • Saint Lucia+1758
    • Saint Martin+590
    • Saint Pierre and Miquelon+508
    • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines+1784
    • Samoa+685
    • San Marino+378
    • Sao Tome and Principe+239
    • Saudi Arabia+966
    • Senegal+221
    • Serbia+381
    • Seychelles+248
    • Sierra Leone+232
    • Sint Maarten (Dutch part)+1721
    • Slovakia+421
    • Slovenia+386
    • Solomon Islands+677
    • Somalia+252
    • South Africa+27
    • South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands+500
    • Sri Lanka+94
    • Sudan+249
    • Suriname+597
    • Svalbard and Jan Mayen+47
    • Swaziland+268
    • Sweden+46
    • Switzerland+41
    • Syrian Arab Republic+963
    • Tajikistan+992
    • Tanzania United Republic of+255
    • Thailand+66
    • Timor-Leste+670
    • Togo+228
    • Tokelau+690
    • Tonga+676
    • Trinidad and Tobago+1868
    • Tunisia+216
    • Turkmenistan+993
    • Turks and Caicos Islands+1649
    • Tuvalu+688
    • Uganda+256
    • Ukraine+380
    • United Arab Emirates+971
    • Uruguay+598
    • USA+1
    • Uzbekistan+998
    • Vanuatu+678
    • Venezuela+58
    • Vietnam+84
    • Wallis and Futuna+681
    • Western Sahara+212
    • Yemen+967
    • Zambia+260
    • Zimbabwe+263

    General Information

    Enable One Login. All Access.

    I am at least 18 years old and have read and accepted the Terms and Conditions.
    [ultimatemember form_id=23494]

    Welcome, !

    You have successfully created your account. You can now enjoy our FREE TO PLAY GAMES

  • Coming Soon!

  • Play Now Play Now

    Welcome, !

    You have successfully created your account. You can now enjoy our FREE TO PLAY GAMES or access our wide range of DAFABET products

  • Coming Soon!

  • Can't Login?

    Coming Soon!

    Dafanews India

    Stay in Loop!

    Join our Telegram community for the latest sports news, highlights, live scores, and more.

    Written by Jamie Alter
    Mohammed Siraj

    New WTC cycle starts for India with West Indies challenge

    July 11, 2023

    An Indian cricket ecosystem in transition faces its latest challenge in the form of two Test matches in the West Indies, where no Indian men’s team has lost a series since 2002. Where in usual circumstances an Indian team heading to the Caribbean to play the hosts in for a short Test series such as this would be met with dismissive tones, in the summer of 2023 the situation is different. This Indian cricket team is nearing breaking point in Test cricket, with too many hollow victories achieved on home soil and just not enough success overseas to justify the team’s No 1 Test status or its presence in the recent World Test Championship final at The Oval.

    A new WTC cycle starts July 12 with the first Test between India and West Indies at Dominica, and the challenges facing Rohit Sharma’s men are multiple. One, they have to prove that regularly winning Test matches outside of Asia is doable. Two, they have to identify a No 3 for the future, given that Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped. Three, there is the need to locate and groom the next Test captain, given that Rohit is 36, injury prone and short of quality runs outside of India. Ajinkya Rahane was made the vice-captain for this tour after recently returning to the Test team after 18-odd months, but he cannot be the man to lead India in the next WTC cycle, should Rohit make way. A younger man must be groomed, and it must start in the West Indies.

    Then there are the matters of deciding who the best wicketkeeper-batsman is until Rishabh Pant makes a successful comeback; which pace bowler the team can rely on should Jasprit Bumrah not be able to make a return to Tests; which opener can be entrusted with taking the mantle through this new WTC cycle and beyond; and, whisper it softly, who the next No 4 is whenever the time comes for Virat Kohli to vacate it.

    The answers to these questions may not present themselves in just two Test matches versus West Indies, but the planning and forward thinking has to begin now.

    Yashasvi Jaiswal has ticked the correct boxes en route to his first India call-up. At 21, he averages 80 in first-class cricket with nine centuries from 15 matches and offers a left-hand option at the top. He can also bat at No 3, should the Indian team management prefer not to pair him with Rohit. Ruturaj Gaikwad joins Jaiswal as the other uncapped batsman in this Test squad, and is another who has to be kept in mind for the 2023-25 WTC cycle.

    Shubman Gill’s future lies in India’s Test middle order, many believe, and so if he is the man to take over from Kohli at No 4 then there is logic to slotting him down a spot to No 3 for these two Tests. As well as seeing his leadership skills closely, given that he is the most obvious candidate to take over in the future.

    KS Bharat has kept wickets in each Test match since Pant’s accident, but his batting has been very disappointing. He is the superior wicketkeeper in the squad, but the uncapped Ishan Kishan offers more promise with the bat. On slower surfaces in the West Indies, with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja expected to bowl plenty of overs, who will the management turn to?

    Now to the on-field challenges. While West Indies’ recent disappointment at the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers underlines their downfall, they are a different proposition in Test cricket, having beaten England at home. Short-pitched bowling has troubled this Indian team, and with Rohit and Kohli struggling and Gill coming off a poor WTC final there are enough weak areas for the West Indian quicks to attack.

    Secondly, India’s fast-bowling ensemble for these two Test matches carries the combined experience of 88 wickets, with Mohammed Siraj the most successful of the lot with 52. Ashwin and Jadeja will be relied heavily upon, but if West Indies’ batting pulls above its weight, we could be in for a real contest. India’s most recent tours to the Caribbean – in 2016 and 2019 – saw them win four of six Tests because a few players delivered: Kohli, Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Ashwin (including two centuries), Umesh Yadav and Bumrah. In 2023, a team in transition and carrying players past their prime in Rohit, Kohli and Rahane has a stiff job in front of them.

    On ranking (West Indies are eighth) and experience the Indian team are favourites, but this series won’t be a pushover one.

     

     

    About the Author


    Written by Jamie Alter

    Jamie Alter is a sports journalist, author, commentator, anchor, actor, and YouTuber who has covered multiple cricket World Cups and other major sporting events while working with ESPNcricinfo, Cricbuzz, Network 18, the Zee Group and as Digital Sports Editor of the Times of India. Follow Jamie on Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.

    ×
    Embed Code