West Indies’ tour of India is expected to begin in November

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) on Tuesday confirmed their tour of India that is supposed to begin in November this year. In their planned tour, they will play two Tests and three ODI matches. However, dates and venues of this bilateral series are not finalized yet.

It is going to be a very important series for Sachin Tendulkar as he is looking forward to reach another milestone in the history of cricket. The 40-year-old batting maestro is just two matches away to compete his 200^th Test matches. He is going to be the first ever player to have played 200 Tests so far.

It is expected that Test matches will take place in Mumbai and Kolkata. It seems that 200^th Test match will be hosted in Mumbai, Tendulkar's hometown. He has already played 198 Tests and scored 15837 runs at an average of 53.86 with 51 centuries and 67 half-centuries.

Former Australian captains Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh are just after him with 168 Tests beside their names, 30 matches less than Sachin Tendulkar.

It is thought that due to this two-nation series, India’s tour of South Africa may have the possibility to be rescheduled and cut short. It was scheduled to begin on November 21. If India takes West Indies after home series against Australia that ends on November 2 then South Africa tour could begin before November 30.

India’s tour of South Africa was originally scheduled to play two T20s, seven ODIs and three Tests, ending on January 19. Due to Indian’s tour of New Zealand which begins on January 19, they will have to finish the series earlier.

West Indies Team: Money vs Dedication

West Indies team in Champions Trophy 2009 has lost both the matches so far. In the second, they lost to Australia but it was not without a fight. IN fact, for most of the time in the match, I thought that they were the favorites to win but in the end, it was bad luck and lack of experience that did not let them do well. Tomorrow, they are going to take on India. It is a do or die for Indian team. They have to win and win it with a huge margin to keep their hope alive in this trophy. Tomorrow, no one is expecting that West Indies would win but let us see if they can again put a brave fight like the first two matches.

I guess that all of you know that this is not the regular West Indies cricket team. The top players have problem about salary with the board. So, the Cricket Board of West Indies has fielded a second or third category team with no star player. The thing that I liked a lot is the dedication that these ordinary players have put up in this series. In both the matches, they could offer very good competition.

I really admire their dedication.