Just three days after winning the Asian Games gold medal in Japan, India return to action, this time against West Indies in Lucknow and they will have to do so without their bowling spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah.
India’s squad has undergone a few changes from the Asian Games campaign. Bumrah, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam and Washington Sundar make way for Naman Dhir, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav and Nitish Reddy.
India will start as clear favourites, and if recent evidence is anything to go by, their batting is unlikely to lack intent. Abhishek Sharma and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi have already shown their appetite for attacking cricket, and the West Indies bowlers can expect plenty of pressure from the outset.
The bigger question, however, is at the other end.
Bumrah was excellent in the Asian Games final against Pakistan, and his absence leaves India without their most reliable strike bowler. West Indies possess several dangerous big-hitters, so India’s replacement bowlers will have to step up.
Fielding is another area of concern. India’s effort in the preceding ODI series was far from convincing, and they cannot afford to give away easy runs against an aggressive West Indies batting line-up.
There are also individual concerns. Shreyas Iyer needs a few substantial scores to rebuild confidence, while Sanju Samson will be keen to shake off the tag of inconsistency. Tilak Varma, meanwhile, needs to build on his impressive 51 in the Asian Games final.
The ODI leg of the West Indies tour ended 2-1 in India’s favour, with high-scoring games throughout. At Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium, T20 cricket has produced mixed results, with the highest total standing at 199/2 and the lowest at 99/8. Only one century has been scored there by Rohit Sharma while medium-pacers have generally enjoyed the conditions.
India remain favourites. But this series offers them an opportunity to prove they can win convincingly even without Bumrah something that could matter far more than the result of another seemingly routine home series.
