5 CPL players who should be playing Test cricket for West Indies

Having lost the first Test by an innings and 92 runs, West Indies will be looking to bounce back strongly in the second Test. If they are to do so, one of the things that they have to do is to look at some of the top performers in this year's Caribbean Premier League and give them a chance to play Tests.

While most of the players playing in the tournament have established themselves as short-format specialists, some of them do have impressive records in not just first-class cricket but also in Tests.

So, here are 5 CPL players who should be playing Test cricket for West Indies:

Ravi Rampaul

Ravi Rampaul may have played more List-A matches and T20s than first-class games but with over 200 first-class scalps to his name, he isn't too shabby in the longest format of the game either. Just one wicket shy of 50 Test scalps too, he will come in with a point to prove.

Against no other country has Rampaul taken more wickets than against India. So that is certainly one reason to pick him for the upcoming Tests against India. The other is the fact that his variations and ability to bowl consistent lines make him the perfect workhorse fast bowler around which the attack can be built around.

It might be nearly four years since his last Test but if WI are looking for a workhorse fast bowler to complement their bowling attack, they could do worse than to take a look at Rampaul.

Ramnaresh Sarwan

One of the issues with the current West Indies side is the lack of experience in the middle-order. Ever since Shivnarine Chanderpaul stopped playing Tests, the middle-order has been without a batsman who knows what it takes to either grind it out or play according to the situation.

So it is certainly surprising then that Ramnaresh Sarwan, a 87-test veteran isn't playing the longest format of the game for his country. With nearly 6,000 Test runs and an average in excess of 40, it isn't because of his record, that's for sure. The fact that he recently won a case against West Indies Cricket Board for comments made about his fitness certainly doesn't help his case for a comeback but his numbers certainly do.

Despite not playing a Test for West Indies since 2011, there can be little doubt about Sarwan's qualities and ability to adapt to Tests. After all, it is not like WI have plenty of options, let alone players with experience who can plug the gap like Sarwan can.

Sunil Narine

If there is one player playing in CPL 2016, who is the quintessential short-format player, it is Sunil Narine. Of the 281 matches that he has played in his senior career, only 13 have been first-class matches. So it is certainly not surprising that he hasn't been given a second thought in the longest format of the game.

But a closer look at that record suggests that he must be given another go. In his 13 matches, he has picked up 65 wickets. And in his six Tests, he has picked up 21 wickets. Although the last of his Tests was in 2013 against New Zealand, given that batsmen still struggle to pick as was evident from the ongoing Caribbean Premier League, it is certainly not going to hurt to give him another shot.

After all, although West Indies have a leg spinner in the side, they have been relying on part-time options from their top-order to fill in the quota of an off-spinner and Narine's inclusion will certainly change that.

Alzarri Joseph

Not everyone gets the luxury of playing for their country, even if it is only a rank or two below senior cricket. Fewer still can proudly proclaim that they have won a World Cup and earned the adulation of not just your peers but also the people that you looked up to, growing up.

But Alzarri Joseph did all of this as a teenager by winning the U-19 World Cup for West Indies and earning praise from Andy Roberts, Ian Bishop and Curtly Ambrose. Yet if there is one reason more than all of this that warrants his place in the West Indian Test side, it is his pace.

After all, Joseph did bowl at 150 kmph at the U-19 World Cup and since the current side is short of that and went into the last Test with just one fast bowler, they could certainly do with someone who induces fear in the minds of the batsman with sheer pace.

Chris Gayle

With an impressive Test record, why isn’t Gayle playing for WI in Tests?

Chris Gayle is the undoubted king of T20s. As the owner of most of the records in the shortest format of the game, the 36-year-old still continues to reign supreme for West Indies in international T20I tournaments and T20I series, aside from showcasing his skills in the many domestic T20 tournaments around the world.

Yet, as he has admitted on many occasions. His desire to play Tests hasn't diminished. Having played over 100 Tests and scored over 7,000 runs at an average of 42, he is undoubtedly one of his country's finest openers in the longest format of the game. So why then hasn't be played a Test since 2014?

Well, that's the question that must be on many West Indians' lips as his record in the longest format of the game, his desire to play Tests and the general lack of quality West Indian openers makes him a no-brainer as far as being on the West Indian Test side.