WI skipper Braithwaite ahead of 1st Test against India

Ahead of the first Test of the two-match Test series against India, West Indies Test skipper Kraigg Braithwaite said that consistency is key for his side right from the start, no matter what challenges they face.

India and West Indies will face each other in the first Test of two-match series at Dominica. It will be the first match for both teams in the new ICC World Test Championship 2023-2025.

This series comes in testing times for the hosts, who recently failed to qualify for the men's Cricket World Cup 2023, which will take place in India.

Brathwaite, a veteran of 85 Tests – 11 of which have come against the Asian side – said if West Indies were to topple the visitors, they would need to be consistent from the first ball at Windsor Park.

"We look forward to the challenge. I think we also look forward to the support of the Dominican public. And we had number of discussions on how we want to go about playing and the key is consistency. We want to be consistent and that is from the first innings right through the whole Test match into the second Test, and for us we look forward to doing that," said Kraigg to media as quoted by Cricket West Indies (CWI) official website.

"We obviously would always have challenges in the way – good bowling spells, good batting, good partnerships – but as a bowling group, we have to stick together and put our heads together. But we look forward to the challenge here in Dominica and we look forward to the crowd coming out and giving up some good home support but we’re ready to go," he added.

Kemar Roach is the spearhead of the West Indies attack and the fast bowler has displayed exactly the consistency Brathwaite has asked for – taking 68 wickets from 22 Tests against India at an average of 28 to move into fifth place on the all-time West Indies bowling charts with 261 scalps.

And it was no surprise that Brathwaite pointed to the enduring Barbadian as one the keys to unlocking India in the upcoming series.

"It is great to have Kemar around, especially with his experience in the dressing room. On the field, he always lends that advice and helping hand to the fast bowlers as well – even spinners at times. So it is great to have him. He’s a legend of West Indies cricket and I look forward to many more years of Kemar doing well for West Indies," Brathwaite said.

SQUADS:

WEST INDIES – Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kirk McKenzie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican

INDIA – Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.