India strong favourites against West Indies in home Test series

Dubai: Dubai: Shubman Gill will lead Team India as they take on a depleted West Indies side in a two-Test series beginning Thursday. The hosts enter the series as firm favourites, while the visitors continue to struggle with injuries and a prolonged decline across formats.

West Indies cricket is in disarray following a string of poor performances. Most recently, their T20 side hit a new low with a series defeat to Nepal — a team yet to gain Test status. In red-ball cricket, their form has been equally concerning. Earlier this year, they were whitewashed 3-0 at home by Australia, including a humiliating collapse for just 27 runs in the final Test — the second-lowest score in Test history. That disaster prompted West Indies Cricket Board president Kishore Shallow to convene an emergency meeting with past legends to address the crisis.

Ahead of the opening Test in Ahmedabad, the West Indies suffered fresh setbacks with fast bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph ruled out due to injuries. Their replacements — uncapped seamers Johann Layne and Jediah Blades — bring limited experience, with Blades yet to play red-ball cricket at the international level. Jayden Seales remains the only pacer in the squad with more than 10 Test appearances.

In stark contrast, India are riding high on confidence after drawing 2-2 in their five-Test series in England earlier this year. That series marked Gill’s captaincy debut and the beginning of a new era for Indian cricket following the retirements of stalwarts Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin. Gill made a stunning start to his leadership journey, amassing 754 runs — the most by an Indian batter in a Test series in England.

India’s bowling attack will be bolstered by the return of pace ace Jasprit Bumrah, fresh off a two-wicket haul in the T20 Asia Cup final win over Pakistan in Dubai. Bumrah’s workload is being carefully managed following an injury sustained in Australia earlier this year. During the England series, he was rested for two Tests, with Mohammed Siraj stepping up impressively to lead the attack, finishing as India’s top wicket-taker with 23 scalps.

West Indies captain Roston Chase will look to his spin trio for support, including Jomel Warrican and debutant Khary Pierre. The 34-year-old Pierre, who earned his Test cap after a standout domestic season claiming 41 wickets, expressed his commitment to the cause:

“I always want to do more … hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. I leave everything on the cricket field — blood, sweat, tears — and that was my trademark this season. It paid off.”

The second and final Test will take place in New Delhi from October 10 to 14.

India (from): Shubman Gill (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, Axar Patel, N. Jagadeesan.

West Indies (from): Roston Chase (capt), Kevlon Anderson, Alick Athanaze, John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Johann Layne, Jediah Blades, Brandon King, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Jayden Seales, Jomel Warrican.

With inputs from AFP