India Eye World Test Championship Boost From Struggling West Indies

India's latest quest for an elusive World Test Championship title gets under way on Wednesday in the lush tropical setting of Windsor Park Stadium in Dominica against a West Indies team expected to struggle to cope with the formidable challenge presented by the visitors in the two-match series. Rocked by the failure of the two-time winners to qualify for the 50-over-a-side World Cup in India in October-November this year, the Caribbean cricket community is unlikely to find solace in the shape of Kraigg Brathwaite's side in seeking to end a barren run of 21 years without a single Test match victory against the Indians.

This brief series, which ends in Trinidad the following week in what will be the 100th Test between the two teams, marks the start of the next two-year WTC cycle leading to the final in 2025.

Beaten by New Zealand in the inaugural final in 2021 and then outplayed by Australia in the 2023 decider just four weeks ago, Rohit Sharma's team is likely to show no more than three changes from the side that lost the new Test cricket showpiece by 209 runs at The Oval in London.

With veteran batsman Cheteshwar Pujara dropped and pacer Mohammed Shami rested, there are now opportunities for either of the uncapped Yashasvi Jaiswal or Ruturaj Gaikwad to make the number three spot their own while it will be a toss-up between Jaydev Unadkat and Navdeep Saini to fill the breach in the fast bowling department.

Spinning all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, unlucky to have been omitted from last month's duel with Australia, should have the chance to add to his already impressive record against the West Indies.

In 11 Tests against these opponents he has taken 60 wickets and compiled four of his five Test centuries in averaging just