Team India is starting its West Indies tour with a two-day practice match in St. Kitts. Result wise, the game is less significant, but it will surely give the newly-appointed coach Anil Kumble a good look at his squad. Kumble would be hoping to use this series to lay a solid foundation for tougher series coming ahead, and inject his philosophy into the team.

The team management will be keeping a close eye on players like Mohammad Shami, Shikhar Dhawan, and KL Rahul. Shami is coming back from an injury, while Dhawan and Thakur will be aiming to gain confidence of the management. Dhawan, in particular, has plenty at stake, seeing his dismal form, as Rahul is knocking on the door for a regular spot in the playing XI.

More or less, India’s playing XI for the series opener in Antigua is final, but the management will get a chance of testing reserve players in practice matches. Shardul Thakur, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rohit Sharma will be looking forward to cash in the opportunities.

Batting, again, India’s strong point

The Indian team has the likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan in the batting line-up, and players like KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma waiting for their turn. India’s batting lineup currently looks solid, if not more. The sub-continent-like conditions of the Caribbean are for them to exploit. It won’t be a surprise if they end by pilling huge runs in the series.

Indian team is unlikely to make any change in the batting-order, Murali Vijay, Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli, followed by Rahane. Rahul, who is in sublime touch at the moment, and Rohit Sharma will be fighting for a place if the Indian captain decided to field six specialist batsmen, which is very unlikely of him. It will put pressure on Dhawan to perform, and if he does, Pujara’s performance will be under scrutiny.

Finding the right bowling combination

This is the most challenging job both Kumble and Kohli have in their hands. Kohli’s style of play is fielding five regular bowlers, but when Kumble used to play he was a part of a four-bowler attack. It will be interesting to see the bowling combination India will be heading against the Windies. Going by Kohli’s style of play, India will be playing with Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.

Shami’s fitness will be under scrutiny, while Ishant will be a little rusty, after spending some time away from the field. Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar, Thakur and Binny will be aiming to use the practice matches to stamp themselves as able replacements. Kohli is likely to field two spinners – Jadeja and Ashwin – seeing lately the conditions have favored spinners in the Caribbean Islands.

For players, the practice matches will be vital to know the conditions and get used to the playing surfaces of the Caribbean. But for Kohli and Kumble, it will be important to know his players, and get the combination right, from the first match itself. They both know that there is plenty at stake, including the Test rankings, in this series, and they will be targeting nothing less than a series win.