India vs West Indies: Kohli's problems outside off-stump continue while Jaiswal shines in practice game

Virat Kohlis struggles outside the offstump continued as the Indian team participated in an intrasquad practice game ahead of the India vs West Indies series openerKohli was once again snapped behind the stumps as Jaydev Unadkat exploited the formerrsquos problems against deliveries on the corridor of uncertaintyOn the other hand Yashasvi Jaiswal made strong claims for a coveted Test cap with an impressive batting performanceThe Indian team included some local club cricketers along with its own 16 players for the twoday trainingcumpractice game aimed at stimulating matchlike conditions keeping all the toporder batters in one team while the other group was loaded with bowlersUnadkat bowled one outside the offstump and Indias No 1 batter Kohli without any distinct footwork fished at it to be caught by a local fielder stationed at first slipKohlis dismissals in Test cricket have had a pattern and the canny Unadkat hit the right line and length to get the prized scalpMost of the batters retired after playing around 50 to 75 balls with Jaiswal doing his cause no harm with a 54 off 76 balls before taking a breakJaiswals Test debut is a matter of time but what could be a subject of discussion is his usual batting slot which is opening or one down a position that the seasoned Cheteshwar Pujara was forced to vacate after nearly three years of nonperformance and an archaic style of Test match battingWill Jaiswal open or bat at No 3With Pujara being axed the 20yearold Jaiswal was seen opening the batting with skipper Rohit Sharma An ondrive off Mohammed Siraj and a rasping square cut off Unadkat had class written all over itAlso Read Mumbai boy Yashasvi Jaiswal gets maiden India T20I callup for West Indies seriesWhile Jaiswal got to play 76 balls his skipper settled for 67 balls before retiringHowever Jaiswals promotion ahead of regular opener Shubman Gill is an indication that head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit are thinking of blooding the young Mumbai batter as an openerThe longterm plan of the Indian team management could see them use Shubman Gill as their No 3 batter and try out Jaiswal as an openerIt must be mentioned that Gill who has been one of the most consistent batters in recent times is actually a middleorder player who preferred to play at No 3 or 4 during his days as India U19 and India A playerIn fact it was under Dravids coaching in the agegroup and pathways India A team that Gill had batted in the middleorderHe has a double hundred 204 in an A Test against the West Indies in 2019 in TaroubaIn that innings he batted at No 5 virtually No 4 as Shahbaz Nadeem was sent in as nightwatchman on the second eveningWith Kohli taking his spot at No 4 and Ajinkya Rahane at No 5 along with Ravindra Jadeja at No 6 and KS Bharath at No 7 the batting order looks more or less sortedAshwin second spinner Shardul seam bowling allrounderOn a predominantly dry track at the Dominica Ravichandran Ashwin is likely to be the second spinner while Shardul Thakur will be the third seamer and lower middleorder enforcer Shardul and Ashwin will take care of slot Nos 8 and 9 respectivelyWhile Mohammed Siraj automatically selects himself as the leader of the pack the choice for the second new ball bowler could be a tough oneBesides rookie Mukesh Kumars good form and incisive seam bowling Navdeep Saini adds an extra yard of pace in the lineup and Unadkat brings in the leftarmers angle and requisite variation in the attackThe only place which could be debated is this particular bowling slot where three players have their casesThe first Test of the India vs West Indies series begins on 12th JulyWith PTI inputs