Let’s move on. It’s time to put the WTC Final disappointment behind us. No better advertisement than a surprisingly high-octane West Indies vs India Test series to kick off the Men in Blue’s new WTC cycle.

Right off the bat, this will be Rohit Sharma’s first Test assignment in the Caribbean Islands, where India have won their last four series - 2006 (1-0), 2011 (1-0), 2016 (2-0), 2019 (2-0). Safe to say, India are the FAVOURITES!

There are new faces in the Indian camp, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mukesh Kumar earning maiden call-ups to showcase their endurance in top-flight red-ball cricket. And, if all goes to plan, our Pocket Dynamo Ishan Kishan could realise his father’s dream of playing Test cricket for India.

However, despite this, don’t write the Windies off. They are coming off a humiliation in the World Cup qualifiers, where they were pretty badly ousted. Historically, the hosts enjoy a better head-to-head record against us - 30 wins, against India’s 22. Since the 0-2 loss to India in 2019, the Calypso Kings have played five series and have lost just once (0-2, South Africa, 2021).

What: West Indies vs India Test series

When: 1st Test - July 12 - 16; 2nd Test - July 20 - Jul 24

Where: 1st Test - Windsor Park, Dominica; 2nd Test - Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain

What to expect: Some essence of revenge on either side. India, desperate to put the WTC Final loss to bed, West Indies, desperate to get their cricket on some sort of a track. Expect fresh wickets with some juice in it for the pacers, and more importantly, expect some old-style attritional cricket. Of course, the MI fan in all of us won’t mind an Ishan Kishan debut!

What you need to do: Get your cheering gear and pulse meters up and ready, and recharge your vocal cords. It’s time to show Rohit and army all our love.

West Indies vs India: Numbers Talk

Head-to-head record (matches)

Played: 98

India won: 22

West Indies won: 30

Draws: 46

Tied: 0

Form guide at Windsor Park:

India: 1 Test played, one draw.

West Indies: Five Tests played, one win, three losses, one draw.

Form guide at Queen's Park Oval:

India: 13 Tests played, three wins, three losses and seven draws.

West Indies: 61 Tests played, 20 wins, 18 losses and 23 draws.

Highest run-scorers:

India: Sunil Gavaskar - 2749 runs

West Indies: Clive Lloyd - 2344 runs

Highest wicket-takers:

India: Kapil Dev - 89 wickets

West Indies: Malcolm Marshall - 76 wickets

Squads

India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KS Bharat (Wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (Wicket-keeper), Navdeep Saini

West Indies (first Test): 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