India vs West Indies: Nearly ten months remain for the T20 World Cup 2024 in West Indies and USA and the Indian Cricket team got a chance to flex their muscles in the Western region ahead of the tournament. Hardik Pandya's India went into the series on the back of 11 T20I series wins in a row. The team which is already in a transition phase, played a few more youngsters in the five-game affair with Windies.
Tilak Varma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mukesh Kumar made their debuts in the series. The Indian team was put under the pump after two back-to-back losses but bounced back to level it. However, the team could not stand on the expectations and suffered an eight-wicket loss in the final T20I to lose the series 2-3. However, there are some key positives from the series.
5 big positives for India from the series
1. Tilak Varma the future middle-order star: Tilak Varma was brought into the Indian team for T20Is on the back of a dominant IPL season. The youngster had made 343 runs in 11 games at an impressive average of 42.88 and a strike rate of 164.11. Varma was straightway brought into the team in the first T20I. He did not disappoint the team either. On a challenging surface, where modern-day T20 great Suryakumar Yadav also struggled, Varma smashed 39 from 22 balls.
In the second one, he anchored the innings with a 41 ball 51 before making 49* in a winning cause. Varma did not get much batting in the fourth and had a good start in the fifth, where he made 27. This assured that Varma can be a future star.
2. Yashavi Jaiswal pips Ishan Kishan: India's go-to opener since the absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in T20Is. But he was pipped past by a fellow rising star in Yashasvi Jaiswal. The left-handed Jaiswal was the Emerging Player of IPL 2023 and made 625 runs at an average exceeding 163. Jaiswal got his maiden India call-up in the main squad for the West Indies series (he was a reserve in the WTC final). After a record-breaking century in the first Test match against Windies, Jaiswal proved his mettle in the 20-over format.
He played an unbeaten 84-run knock in the 4th match, which India won by 9 wickets. This gives India another strong option to open in the format.
3. Mukesh Kumar's control: Mukesh Kumar made his International debut in all three formats in two weeks. He showed good control with the ball in the entire series even though, the right-arm quick was not among big wickets. He was asked to bowl the difficult death overs in the T20I series in the absence of Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah's absence. India's bowling coach Paras Mhambarey was also impressed with Mukesh's progress. This displayed that Mukesh can be a good bet for the future.
4. Kuldeep Yadav growing his stature further: 2023 has been Kuldeep's year to remember. From not finding a place in the team in the last few years to becoming the number 1 spin option, Kuldeep has impressed everyone with his improved game. He took wickets at crucial points in both ODIs and T20Is. This provided confidence to both India and Kuldeep.
5. Suryakumar Yadav's return to form: Suryakumar Yadav is a beast in T20Is. He admits to having 'really bad' numbers in ODIs. However, he has belted some runs before going into crucial tournaments such as Asia Cup and World Cup 2023. Yadav played a jaw-dropping 83 from 44 balls on a challenging track in the 3rd T20I. He was the lone warrior with the bat in the 5th, scoring 61 from 45 balls.
