India will tour West Indies in July and August 2023 for a multi-format series. The tour includes two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is. The schedule of the same was announced a day after the conclusion of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 by the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI).
Notably, the WTC Final 2023 concluded on June 11, with India suffering a heartbreaking loss at the hands of eventual champions Australia. On the other hand, the Men in Maroon’s last assignment was against UAE. The Caribbean side dominated the three-match ODI series and whitewashed the hosts (3-0).
While India’s forgettable outing at the World Test Championship final against Australia has left the legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar fuming with anger.
The former India skipper spoke very critically about India’s poor show in the final, which resulted in them in losing out on another opportunity of winning an ICC trophy after 10 years.
After blasting at the debacle of the batting order, Gavaskar also questioned the team’s approach and stated that the entire unit has to work on all the factors that went wrong for India during the match.
“I have been in the teams where we have been knocked out at 42 and we had been miserable in the change rooms. We were also criticized heavily. So, I think you cannot say that the current lot is not beyond criticism. They have to be very analytical about what happened, how they get out, why didn’t they bowl well, why didn’t they catch, was the selection of the Playing XI was the right thing, so all these factors have to come in,” said Gavaskar on Star Sports.
Gavaskar went on to say that winning in bilateral series against teams like West Indies will not mean anything, if Team India continues to repeat their mistakes in the summit clashes against big teams like Australia.
“You cannot brush this under the carpet like ‘yeah we have got two matches against West Indies’. West Indies are not the best team in the world. You just go and hammer them 2-0, 3-0, whatever the matches are. This doesn’t mean anything because when you come across and if you go to the finals and if you are playing Australia again, making the same mistakes, then how would you win the trophy?” he added.
Sunil Gavaskar speaking his heart out.
Sunil Gavaskar speaking his heart out.
Bang on Sunny G pic.twitter.com/CXGrqvgHiZ
— Arya Harish (@iAryaHarish) June 11, 2023
Earlier, the former India skipper had criticized Virat Kohli for his poor shot selection, which eventually led to his dismissal on Scott Boland’s delivery on Day 5 of the WTC final.
“It was a pretty ordinary shot. Outside the off stump. He was leaving till then. Maybe he was conscious that he needed one run to reach his half century. It happens when you are nearing a milestone.” said Gavaskar on Star Sports.
WI vs IND 2023 schedule:
Test series
First Test: July 12-July 16 at Windsor Park in Dominica (7:30 PM IST/ 02:00 PM GMT/ 10:00 AM LOCAL)Second Test: July 20-July 24 at Queen’sQueen’s Park Oval in Trinidad (7:30 PM IST/ 02:00 PM GMT/ 10:00 AM LOCAL)
ODI series:
First ODI: July 27 at Kensington Oval in Barbados (7:00 PM IST/ 01:30 PM GMT/ 09:30 AM LOCAL)
Second ODI: July 29 at Kensington Oval in Barbados (7:00 PM IST/ 01:30 PM GMT/ 09:30 AM LOCAL)
Third ODI: August 1 at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad (7:00 PM IST/ 01:30 PM GMT/ 09:30 AM LOCAL)
T20I series
First T20I: August 4 at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad (8:00 PM IST/ 02:30 PM GMT/ 10:30 AM LOCAL)
Second T20I: August 6 at Providence Stadium in Guyana (8:00 PM IST/ 02:30 PM GMT/ 10:30 AM LOCAL)
Third T20I: August 8 August 6 at Providence Stadium in Guyana (8:00 PM IST/ 02:30 PM GMT/ 10:30 AM LOCAL)
Fourth T20I: August 12 at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Florida (8:00 PM IST/ 02:30 PM GMT/ 10:30 AM LOCAL)
Fifth T20I: August 13 at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Florida (8:00 PM IST/ 02:30 PM GMT/ 10:30 AM LOCAL)