The team would love to have the services of Bumrah but there are doubts whether he will be able to rise to the challenges of the longer format upon his comeback. In such a situation, India has very few options for fast bowling at the present time. Mohammed Siraj has been India’s most successful fast bowler in recent times and the Hyderabadi, who has played 19 Tests so far, will lead the pace attack in the West Indies.
Is the team looking at 31-year-old Jaydev Unadkat, who returned to the Test side after 12 years in Bangladesh last year, as an option? The fast bowling department also includes injury-ravaged Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar, who is yet to play a Test match.
Another fast bowler, the legendary Krishna could have been tried in the West Indies but he is also injured like Bumrah. 24-year-old Shivam Mavi, who has done well in the Duleep Trophy, is still young but is not a part of the team touring the West Indies.
India’s squad for Tests in West Indies: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Akshar Patel, Mo. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.