WI vs IND | Indian team keep Navdeep Saini as cover for Test series

08/19/2019

The Indian team management has decided to keep Navdeep Saini back in the Windies tour as a net bowler for the upcoming two-match Test series. Saini proved his talent by producing a 'Man of the Match' performance in his debut T20I and is now being seen a future prospect with the red ball.

The management has come to appreciate the 26-year-old pacer's skill-set and in order to groom him for future red-ball assignments, they'll have him back as cover for the said Test series.

The Delhi cricketer made his T20I debut against the West Indies, in Florida, and bagged the man of the match award in that game. Saini was also the team's net bowler and a cover for Bhuvneshwar Kumar during the ICC World Cup in England recently.

"Yes, Navdeep Saini has been asked to stay back by the team management for the Test series. He will stay back primarily as a net bowler, they want to groom him for the Test format keeping an eye on the future," a senior BCCI official said on Monday.

In the ongoing practice match against West Indies A, Saini bowled six overs in the first innings to give some rest to Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav. Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn't bowl in the first innings.

"Saini has been a performer in red ball cricket for the past few years. He has the pace, and ability to hit the deck, move the ball both in air and off the pitch," an Indian team official said.

"If he is groomed well, it will only increase our pool of fast bowlers for the top tier cricket. That's how the team management is looking at him," he added.

"One can't ignore the effort that Arun has put in to make India's fast bowling unit the best that has emerged from the country. Rather than playing domestic cricket, he now needs to be in and around the international scene and learn the tricks of the trade for the next level," he said.

Next on India's assignment is a three-match Test series against South Africa and a two-match series against Bangladesh, both at home.

To incorporate Saini in the setup isn't a bad idea since India would require to rest the frontline bowlers like Bumrah and Shami against Bangladesh.