4 Indian players for whom the Test series against West Indies is very crucial

India went to England with a lot of expectations but ended up losing the series 4-1 to England. While Virat Kohli was consistent throughout the series with the bat, others have only shown a few flashes of brilliance.

After the completion of England tour, a Kohli-less Indian team travelled to the United Arab Emirates and successfully defended their title by winning the Asia Cup for the seventh time. A day after India defeated Bangladesh in a thrilling finale, BCCI announced the Indian squad to that will be playing the two-Test series against West Indies.

While Virat returned to the national side after a well-deserved break, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan faced the axe. To replace the left-handed opener, India have added another young opener in the form of Mayank Agarwal to their arsenal. In addition to Agarwal, KL Rahul and Prithvi Shaw are the other two openers in the Indian squad.

On the other hand, India have made quite a few changes to their pace department. While Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya were unfit, the selectors decided to rest Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. Mohammad Siraj who has been performing exceptionally in the domestic circuit has got a maiden national call-up.

India's 15-member squad: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.

While the selectors have opted to give chances to youngsters, a few senior players need to step up in order to retain their place for the Indian tour of Australia. Let us take a look at the four senior players for whom the West Indies series is very crucial.

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#4 Umesh Yadav

Following the debut of Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav has played just two matches for India. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah out of the side with injury niggles, Umesh Yadav got an opportunity in the first Test against England. Of all the pacemen in the Indian team, he was the least impressive of the lot and will need to step up in his game to be a regular in the side with Bhuvi, Bumrah, and Ishant already leading the attack.

In the only Test against Afghanistan, Yadav managed the figures to take 4 wickets in 13 overs but that doesn't make a big statement as the Afghans were playing their first ever Test match. With Umesh expected to lead the pace attack alongside Mohammad Shami, he has to perform exceptionally well in the two Tests against Windies or else he might have to stick to the bench even in the tour of Australia.

#3 Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja got just one chance in England

While Umesh Yadav was the backup pacer in the team, Ravindra Jadeja played the role of the backup spinner in India's away tours this year. Just like Umesh, after not featuring in a single match in South Africa, Jadeja played against Afghanistan in the historic Test match and against England in the final Test.

With India generally opting for just one spinner in the away tours, Ravichandran Ashwin has been India's preferred choice over Jadeja. Even in the second Test at Lords in England when India opted for two spinners, Kuldeep Yadav made the cut. Jadeja, currently the second best Test all-rounder, made his way to the XI in the final Test only after an injury to Ashwin.

In the only opportunity that he got in England, Jadeja took 7 wickets and also bailed out India with the bat in the first innings by scoring 86 runs. With him set to play the two matches against the Windies, Jadeja has to give his best if he wants to feature in the Australian tour. After Jadeja making a great comeback to the ODI in the Asia Cup, Jadeja will look to make a statement with the ball and the bat to seal the spot of the main spinner.

#2 Cheteswara Pujara

Pujara wasn't up to the mark barring the century

Cheteswara Pujara is the only Indian batsman other than Virat Kohli who has been ranked in the top 10 in Tests. In spite of being ranked sixth, he was dropped for the first Test against England after a poor show in county cricket. In the last four Tests, he managed to score a century and a half-century but he was nowhere near his best.

Barring the two fifty-plus scores, he scored just 74 runs in the remaining 6 innings. Pujara even threw away his wickets few times and did not show solidarity in any of these innings. With him being one of the key players in the Indian side, the West Indies series might be the perfect platform for him to bring back his 'A-game' ahead of the all-important tour of Australia.

#1 Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane was off-colour in England in spite of two half-centuries

Ajinkya Rahane the vice-captain of the Indian team has not been at his best in the test series against England. Just like the other three players, Rahane is another key player for India who needs to step up before the Australian tour. He was not part of the playing XI in the first two matches against South Africa but his fighting innings on a treacherous Johannesburg pitch in the third Test helped India win the Test.

As a result of that innings, he played all the five matches against England but averaged just 25.70 in the 10 innings. Barring the 81 and 51 that he scored in the third and the fourth Tests, he could not deliver the goods when required. Even on those two occasions, he could have scored more but gave away his wicket after a great start. If India does not want to repeat a scoreline similar to that of England in Australia, Rahane needs to make more useful contributions.