AFP, New Delhi :
Stung by defeat in England and heading to Australia for a tough tour next month, India’s cricketers are looking for some confidence-boosting home victories against the West Indies from Thursday.
The number one Test side and the winner of last week’s Asia Cup start as favourites against the eighth-ranked West Indies in the series of two Tests, five one-day internationals and three twenty20 games.
“West Indies doesn’t have a team to compete against India. They don’t stand a chance at all,” veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh told AFP ahead of the first Test in Rajkot starting on Thursday.
But India may not find it so easy, with series defeats this year in England and South Africa revealing some serious chinks in India’s armour, at least away from home.
India, under talismanic captain Virat Kohli, have new faces in uncapped batsman Mayank Agarwal and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj.
Siraj will bolster the pace attack led by Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav who could trouble the relatively young West Indian batting line-up.
Meanwhile spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are a formidable force on home turf.
The Jason Holder-led West Indies are arriving off the back of a successful home season where they drew a Test series against Sri Lanka and then drubbed Bangladesh 2-0.
Batsman Sunil Ambris has already made his case for a place in the team XI after his unbeaten 114 in the tourists’ only warm-up game in India.
The erstwhile cricket powerhouse have been bolstered by the return of experienced quick bowler Kemar Roach who will join fellow pacemen Holder and Shannon Gabriel.
