West Indies series excellent opportunity for the youngsters

The team selection for the upcoming West Indies series shows the immense faith the selectors have on the youngsters. The team has the right balance of youth and experience and it will be interesting to see how they fare in the longer format. The series also proves an ideal ground to prepare for the future. West Indies aren't a force anymore and this young team playing in India will gain immense experience.

Ravichandran Ashwin's consistent ODI performances have earned him a test call in place of out of form Harbajan Singh. Harbajan's exclusion from the test squad was a huge surprise but considering his performances over the past year it does not seem a bad decision to give him a break. This will also test Ashwin's capability to bowl in the longer format. The selection of Rahul Sharma was a surprise though as he hasn't played too many first class games but there aren't too many spinners for the selectors to pick from. Pragyan Ojha though is for sure a deserved selection. He has been very good in the limited opportunities he has received and the West Indies tour will for sure give him excellent opportunity to cement his place in the test squad.

The pace bowling too has some exciting names in the squad. Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav join Ishant Sharma in the squad for the first test. Both Umesh and Aaron impressed everyone with their pace in the ODI series against England and it will be interesting to see how they go in the tests. It will be a great opportunity for both of them ahead of the Australian series. Umesh Yadav is most likely the one who will make the debut in the first test and will share the new ball alongside Ishant. The batting though had less surprises but inclusion of Rahane and Kohli is a step in the right direction.

Both these players are for sure the future of Indian batting and them getting a chance to be a part of the test squad will be a great learning experience. Virat Kohli is coming off a brilliant season with the bat in the ODI and one would hope that he can translate the same form to the longer format. Rahane though might have to wait a while for his opportunity as Gambhir and Sehwag are back at the top for the West Indies series.

All in all I would say that the selectors have hit the bull's eye with this series. I would have preferred if they had announced this squad for the entire series instead of just the one game. This puts enormous pressure on players like Ashwin and Yadav who would be playing their first game. I hope that both of them get to play the entire series to prove their credentials. The series begins in few days' time and it will be interesting to see how the youngsters perform. These are exciting times in Indian cricket and this series for sure will give the youngsters a great opportunity to perform and impress the selection as the selection for the Australian tour is just around the corner.

Article by: Giridharan Subramanian