India will be eager to make amends at home after the shambolic New Zealand series last year.
India had been a dominating side in the longest format up till the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) Cycle. They had a disappointing campaign towards the end and subsequently failed to make it to the Final.
Rohit Sharma and Co. faced two heavy defeats – a 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand and then a 3-1 defeat to Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) which knocked them out of the Finals race. The summit clash will now be contested between defending champions Australia and South Africa, who will be making their first appearance in a WTC Final.
Notably, prior to this, India qualified for the Final in both the previous WTC cycles although they are yet to win the title, losing to New Zealand in the first and then to Australia. The Indian team will thus be gunning to get back to the top in red-ball cricket when the next cycle starts.
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India’s first Test series in the new cycle will start off with an extensive five-match tour of England. India’s first home Test series will be against the West Indies. Notably, the last time India and West Indies locked horns in the longest format was back in 2023. India travelled to the Caribbean for a two-match series and won it 1-0.
The upcoming WI series will be an extremely crucial affair. India will look to brush past the horrors of the NZ Tests which ended their historic unbeaten run of 18 series wins at home since 2012.
The probable dates and the venues for the two-Test series against the Windies are also out. The series is likely to start in the first week of October with the opener in Mohali. The second test will be held in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens from October 10 to 14.
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