West Indies Face Moment of Reckoning in Test Series vs India

These are exciting times for the Indian cricket team. The return of the legendary Anil Kumble to the national fold, this time as the coach of the team, has certainly been met with some warmth in India.

With India touring West Indies for a four-match Test series, it will be interesting to see what effect Kumble has on the team. This will also be India's first Test assignment this year.

The Virat Kohli-captained team had won five out of nine Test matches in 2015, losing just once and drawing thrice.

India will go to West Indies as the favourites to clinch the series. But irrespective of what happens in the Caribbean, Kumble will be given ample time to build a team that could do justice to the cricket fans in India.

The same cannot be said of the West Indies team, however. In recent years, the Caribbeans have done commendably in the shorter formats of the game, winning two of the last three World T20 titles.

In Test cricket, it has been a different story for them altogether.

On a free fall

West Indies have managed to win just one of their last 13 Test matches, at home against England. Their last series win against a top-8 opposition came against New Zealand at home in 2012.

It is an appalling record for the once dominant force of world cricket. There is no denying that West Indies are on a free fall in Test cricket and with players and the West Indies Cricket Board involved in a bitter pay dispute, things are looking gloomy for the sport in the region.

Despite the recent World T20 triumph, West Indies cricket lies in a state that most of the other top-8 Test playing teams would describe as a 'crisis'.

Yet, little seems to have been done on the ground to improve the current state of affairs. The lead-up to the Test series against India has been marred by controversy over the exclusion of wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin from the team.

Even when the team isn't playing, West Indies cricket can't seem to catch a break at the moment.

File photo.

© PTI

A chance to stage a fightback

The upcoming Test series India presents an opportunity to the Windies to arrest the slide in cricket's oldest format. It's not that winning the series will completely change the team's fortunes, but it will be a beginning; at the very least, it will stop the rot for now.

The last time West Indies faced India in Tests, Sachin Tendulkar's retirement overshadowed what was a humiliating 2-0 series defeat for them in a two-match series in India. Two years before that, the islanders had been beaten 2-0 in a three-match series in the sub-continent.

For India, it was at the Caribbean that the team last won a Test series away from the Indian sub-continent. That was back in 2011. Five years on, Kumble will be taking a much younger side to try and keep intact India's recent dominance over West Indies.

The odds will be heavily stacked with Kumble's side, while the hosts will be facing an uphill task to restore some pride in Test cricket. These are desperate times for cricket in West Indies, and a good display against India in the upcoming series will surely come as a huge morale-booster.