IND v WI 2018: 3 players who might make their India Test debut against West Indies

India is scheduled to play two Tests against West Indies at home in October 2018.

 As another disappointing Test series against England is coming to an end, where India should have been 2-2 instead of 1-3 going into the fifth Test; the focus has started to shift to the next Test assignment of the Indian team.

There is an Asia Cup in between, but the majority of the focus will be on the West Indies tour to India as there is a high chance of some of the Indian domestic stars getting their due in form of a chance to debut in the series.

There was much discontent amongst the fans and experts alike when the squad for the England series was announced, both the times, as many deserving players lost out on chances to prove their mettle at international level. There have been some consistent performers in the Indian domestic cricket who have been waiting for a chance to realize their dreams to play for the national team.

With West Indies scheduled to tour India after the Asia Cup, one can expect many such deserving players finally get their hands at the coveted India Test cap and perform at the international platform and stake claim for a permanent place in the team.

3 players who might make their India Test debut against West Indies  

Hanuma Vihari

Hanuma Vihari, the Andhra Pradesh batsman has made quite a name for himself in the domestic cricket circuit in the recent times. He was the leading run-scorer for Andhra in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, with 752 runs in six matches. This included a triple century (302*) against Odisha.

Vihari, who has featured in IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad, was a prolific scorer for India A on the tour of England and then against South Africa A in India. He scored 68, 54 and 148 in his last three FC matches. These scores were enough for Vihari to get his maiden call-up to the senior India team for the last two Tests.

A technically proficient batsman, Vihari is both adept at pace and spin and might have a good chance of making his debut against West Indies in the Test matches in the upcoming series.

Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj has played three T20Is for India but the performance has been below par. He looked like an unfinished product and someone who needed guidance and practice to become more effective.

With 40 wickets in his last 5 FC matches, including an 11-wicket haul against Australia A in the recent unofficial Test, Siraj has staked his claim for a berth in the Indian team for the West Indies series. Siraj has had a prolific season in domestic cricket and IPL 2018 for Royal Challengers Bangalore and many expected him to be included in the India team for Asia Cup.

He was the leading wicket-taker in the 2017/18 Vijay Hazare Trophy with 23 dismissals in seven matches. Such performances might get him an India call-up soon for the West Indies Test series. He has the pace and has shown that he has the guile as well to take wickets on the Indian pitches.

Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal had a tremendous domestic season with the bat for Karnataka Ranji side. He scored 1,160 runs in the 2018/18 Ranji Trophy, including a triple century (304*) against Maharashtra, which was also the 50th triple century scored in first-class cricket in India.

In February 2018, he was the leading run-scorer in the 2017/18 Vijay Hazare Trophy with 723 runs in eight matches. He ended the season with 2,141 runs across all formats, the highest total by any batsman in an Indian domestic season. This earned him the Madhavrao Scindia Award for the Highest Run-Scorer in Ranji Trophy by the BCCI.

Such a record might have earned anyone a seat on the plane for the tour to England on the Indian team. But Agarwal was overlooked in favor of tried and tested openers. Now that those tried and tested openers have failed, the team management and BCCI might have to give Agarwal a chance against West Indies.

He had scored 220 against South Africa A, 124 in a List A match against India A and 47 and 80 against Australia A in the recently concluded FC match at Bengaluru. Such prolific scoring should earn Agarwal his due and that due is the Indian Test cap in the upcoming series against West Indies.