Kevin Sinclair, an all rounder has just received his first Test call-up for the West Indies. He will be replacing Raymon Reifer as the only change in the 13-man squad for the second Test against India. Reifer, who did not perform well in the first Test, will remain with the team as an injury cover.
In the first Test, the West Indies suffered a heavy defeat, losing by an innings and 141 runs in under three days. The Indian spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took the majority of the wickets, exploiting the weaknesses of the West Indies batsmen.
Considering the spin-friendly nature of the Trinidad pitch, which has historically favoured spin bowling, the West Indies have decided to strengthen their spin-bowling options by including Kevin Sinclair. The 23-year-old has previously played in seven ODIs and six T20Is, taking a total of 15 wickets, including two four-wicket hauls.
Kevin Sinclair, who represented the West Indies in the recently concluded World Cup Qualifiers, had a modest performance with two wickets in three matches. In first-class cricket, Sinclair has impressive statistics, taking 54 wickets in 18 games at an average of 23.98. He has achieved three 5-wicket hauls, with his best figures being 6/33. Sinclair is known for his unique celebration of flips when dismissing batsmen and has been associated with the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) since 2020.
Apart from the single change involving Sinclair, the rest of the West Indies squad remains unchanged from the first Test. The team will be eager to bounce back from the embarrassing defeat in the opening Test and level the two-match series.
The upcoming Test will be the 100th encounter between India and West Indies. In recent times, India has been dominant in their rivalry, but historically, West Indies holds a 30-23 advantage in the 99 Tests played so far, thanks to their earlier supremacy in world cricket.
West Indies have struggled to defeat India in Test matches since their last victory in the final game of a five-Test series in 2002. India, on the other hand, has seen significant success in Test cricket, consistently ranking at the top of the ICC Test rankings for several years.
The Test series between India and West Indies also marks the beginning of the 2024-2025 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for both teams. India has qualified for the WTC final in the first two cycles and will be aiming to reach the summit clash for the third consecutive time.
West Indies Team Against India For The Second Test
Although the West Indies have chosen to retain most of the squad that suffered a massive defeat against India in Dominica, they have introduced the promising off-spinner Kevin Sinclair in their 13-man lineup, replacing all-rounder Raymon Reifer.
Despite Raymon Reifer’s lacklustre performance in the first Test against India, where he scored only two and 11 runs without taking any wickets, he will still accompany the team to Trinidad and could be utilized as a backup in case of injuries.
The West Indies team for the second Test against India consists of the following players: Kraigg Brathwaite ( C ) Jermaine Blackwood (VC) , Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva (WK), Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, McKenzie, Kevin Sinclair, Kemar Roach, and Jomel Warrican.
