Ajinkya Rahane places his faith in youngsters ahead of test series against West Indies

After a dismal tour of England, the forthcoming series against West Indies will prove to be a major-morale boost for the Indian cricket team ahead of their tour of Australia in the next month. The series also sees the addition of new faces to the Indian roster, thus making it a great opportunity for these young cricketers to leave their mark. 

After impressing in the domestic circuit with their brilliant showing, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and Mohammed Siraj have earned their maiden call-up to the Indian Test squad. And vice-captain, Ajinkya Rahane feels the three young cricketers couldn't have asked for a better platform to prove their mettle. 

''The series is an opportunity for each and every individual particularly for the guys who are coming in like Prithvi (Shaw), Mayank (Agarwal) and (Mohammed) Siraj as they have all done well in domestic matches for India A," Rahane said.

When asked about the talented Prithi Shaw, who is a serious contendar to open the Indian batting lineup against the West Indies. Rahane insited that he was very happy with the youngster's progress and placed his faith in his Mumbai-teammate's abilities ahead of the upcoming series. 

"I am really happy for him. He is an attacking opening batsman. He has done so well for Mumbai on a consistent basis. I wish him good luck. I am sure he will do well," Rahane expressed.

However, West Indies will be no slouches coming into the series, there's always an element of surprise to their game, given their ability to upset the best on a day. Speaking of the team's strategy, Ajinkya Rahane said the team won't be complacent and will be 100% focussed towards getting the job done. 

"We will not take the Windies side lightly. We would like to focus on our positives and improve our performance. As a team, it is important to see how we can improve our game," he stated.

Ajinkya Rahane was named deuputy to Virat Kohli, who was rested for the 2018 Asia Cup. The talismanic batsman will be back in business as he returns to take over the captaincy duties.The first Test will be played in Rajkot on October 4, followed by the second Test which will be played ar the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on October 12.

(With PTI inputs)