5 Indian players for whom the West Indies Test series will be crucial

Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav is one of India's stable of fast-bowling options

With the elevation of Jasprit Bumrah to Test Cricket since India’s Tour to South Africa in January 2018 and his excellent performances for Team India in the long format, Umesh Yadav has mostly been India’s backup fast bowler across all formats of the game.

Due to the fixture congestion in international cricket these days, the BCCI have taken the right decision in opting to manage the workloads of India’s two premier all-format fast bowlers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.

This means it’s highly important to have a whole stable of high-quality fast bowlers who are ready to step in and perform in any format of the game. Umesh Yadav, with his pace and experience, is a crucial part of that. He will be looking to use whatever opportunities he gets against the West Indies to stay on the selectors’ minds and maybe even travel to Australia as one of the multiple fast-bowling options in India’s squad.