West Indies coach Daren Sammy is confident that his strong pace attack can help the side pull an upset over India in the upcoming away series, just like how New Zealand were able to do last year. The Blackcaps secured a historic 3-0 win, which was India’s first home loss in 12 years.
West Indies will be the first team to visit India in the new World Test Championship cycle and Sammy feels that his pacers can operate well in any given condition and excel. The West Indies coach said that the likes of Shamar Joseph, Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Searles can trouble the Indian batters and take 20 wickets.
“We have found ourselves in a position where our seam attack could operate in any conditions,” Sammy said in a press conference. “That six-to-eight-metre length works across the world. But in our fast-bowling department, we’ve got four different guys who have their own variety.”
“You have Shamar Joseph, who’s very skiddy, Jayden, who has a strong front leg and can swing the ball both ways, then you have Alzarri Joseph with his height and the bounce he could extract. So, again, we take confidence in that, especially the way they’ve been bowling over the last year. The ability to take 20 wickets, because that’s what you will need in India. If you can’t take 20 wickets in India, you are on the back foot and we have a bowling line-up of that, especially from the seam department, that could take 20 wickets.”
“The process remains the same. The lines and lengths don’t change in terms of that six-to-eight-metre length. Maybe it’s just adjusting whether it’s a touch fuller or touch further back into the pitch. I have full confidence in that and it makes me smile knowing that we go out bowling and we take 20 wickets. And that’s the first objective in the Test match,” said Sammy.
‘Going to India with the mindset to win’
West Indies last won a series in India against India all the way back in 1983. Sammy said that he has spent the last few weeks checking through data to come up with the best team for the series. The Windies coach said they will try to emulate what New Zealand did last year and spring a surprise.
“From my end, the ten days leading up to the [first] Test match [in India], we’ll be drilling in all these things and planning very well as to how we’re going to beat India in India,” Sammy said. “We’re definitely going down there with the mindset to win. We’re not just going to go down there and think, “oh, it’s India”. No. New Zealand went there and did incredibly well and that we should take inspiration from. But again, it’s understanding the things that New Zealand did in those conditions and try to emulate it with our guys as well,” said Sammy.
West Indies will face India in a two-Test series, which will begin on October 2 in Ahmedabad.
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