Rahane, Pujara, Bumrah ready for warm-up tie vs WICB

Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and a well-rested Jasprit Bumrah will be aiming for some quality game time when India take on the West Indies Cricket Board XI in a three-day warm-up game starting on Saturday ahead of the two-match Test series.

With skipper Virat Kohli sustaining a right thumb injury during the third ODI, the team management would like to exercise precaution and may be resting their best player before their World Test championship opener.

Kohli has been in phenomenal form and has led India from the front in the limited-overs series. After scoring 106 runs in the three T20s, Kohli garnered 234 runs, including two centuries, in the two ODIs after the first one-dayer was called off due to rains.

After whitewashing West Indies 3-0 in the T20 International series, India continued their winning spree and pocketed the three-match ODI rubber 2-0. A win in the Test series starting Aug. 22 would be the first time that India have won across all formats on Caribbean soil.

For one of India's batting mainstays in the longest format, Pujara will be playing a competitive red ball game after a good six months having last appeared in the Ranji Trophy final for Saurashtra.

Rahane, skipper Virat Kohli's deputy in this format, didn't exactly set the English county circuit on fire scoring only 307 runs in seven games with a hundred and a fifty and a sub-par average of 23.61.

Rahane has had a prolonged bad patch in Tests and this tour will be crucial for the Mumbaikar. A good hit in the warm-up is the kind of start he would want.

Bumrah, who had a strenuous six months till the 2019 World Cup, has now freshened up and the practice game would be more about hitting the straps and getting rhythm back after a month-long rest.

The practice game will give a chance for players who are already in the West Indies to shift mindsets from limited-overs to the five-day game and from white-ball to red-ball cricket.

On the batting front, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant will be desperate for runs after a below-par limited-overs series. Rishabh would be especially keen on a good knock since his back-up Wriddhiman Saha has already hit two half-centuries in the A games and is considered to be a far better keeper.

Mayank Agarwal is certain to open in the Tests but there will be a toss-up between Hanuma Vihari (originally a middle-order batsman) and KL Rahul, who has not been in the best of form in Tests.

Pacers Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma would look to impress the team management with a fine show in the practice game ahead of the two Tests.

India's spin department is expected to be led by the duo of off-spinner R Ashwin and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.

Since it will not be an official first-class game, all the batsmen in the Indian squad are likely to spend time in the middle to get a feel of the red ball. All the bowlers likewise will also roll their arms over to get used to the longer format.

The World Test Championship is a league that's being contested by nine of the 12 full members countries of the ICC. It is a two-year cycle, the first of which started on Aug. 1 with the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston.

The group phase officially began on July 16 and will run until March 31, 2021, after which the top two teams will contest a final.

As the number one side in Test cricket at present, India would definitely start as one of the favourites to win the Test Championship.

Team (from):

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Umesh Yadav.

West Indies CB XI couldn't be accessed.