Thaindian News

Kingston (Jamaica), June 19 (IANS) An injury plagued Indian team will take on the West Indies in the first Test of the three-match series at the Sabina Park here Monday.

Having won the ODI series 3-2, the Indians are riding high but by winning the last two matches easily, the West Indies are now looking to bounce back.

While the fitness of the pacers haunts India captain Mahendra Sindh Dhoni, West Indies cricket is embroiled in the Chris Gayle controversy as the former captain was once again left out from the squad for the first Test. Trinidad opener Adrian Barath replaced Barbados opener Kraigg Brathwaite. All-rounder Dwayne Bravo along with Andre Russel were also left out.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who missed the second Test against Pakistan due to an injury was omitted from the limited-overs matches against India, but has been was included in the Test squad. The selectors, however, will meet Chanderpaul before the first Test.

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy will be happy as the Sabina Park track will offer some bounce and pace.

Dhoni admitted that the West Indies pacers will have the edge and hoped the batsmen will also come good on the lively track. The return of Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman will provide Dhoni the much needed solace, but opener Murali Vijay is doubtful. The right-handed batsman was hit painfully on his right forefinger in his very first net session and went for an X-ray Saturday.

“West Indies have a good bowling attack. They have bowlers who can bowl fast, and if they can bowl at the right areas they can cause problems to the batsmen. That’s what Test cricket is all about, you have to negotiate good bowlers and balls, and as a batsman you need to push the bowlers to bowl into your zone.

“So it will be a good competition for our batsmen. I think the wicket here will be different from the first three one-dayers where the ball turned a lot,” Dhoni said.

He said the fitness of his bowlers will be the key. Munaf Patel, who was impressive in the ODIs, picked up an elbow injury and the delayed arrival of Karnataka pacer Abhimanyu Mithun has done no good to India’s pace attack. Mithun will be missing the first Test due to visa issues and Praveen Kumar is almost likely to make his debut. Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth are missing the Test series due to injuries.

“All the high profile series are coming up and what’s important to keep all the bowlers fit. I think fitness is one area that can have a real impact because it’s not a short format where you need to bowl only four overs or 10 overs. In Test match, you may need to bowl 15, 16, 17 overs, and sometimes close to or over 25 overs in an innings irrespective whether you are a fast bowler or spinner.

“So, I think fitness is the key because you need your best bowlers to play in the high-profile series and it’s important for them in a space where they are physically and mentally fit, so that they can achieve that,” he said.

Dhoni also backed the youngsters. “This is an ideal opportunity for each and every individual, and that’s how I want everyone to look at it. You don’t want them to be under pressure, thinking that we are not playing in India and we are playing abroad. So, what’s important is to create an atmosphere where they love the challenge because if there is no challenge you can’t prove the mettle you have.

“We tell the youngsters the importance of doing the small things right, and it’s all about not thinking about the number of Test matches you have to play, or how many of them are outside India, and I think that will help us to perform consistently,” he said.