Denesh Ramdin will face his stiffest test as West Indies captain when he leads the regional team in three Tests, five ODIs and a T20 in India during the period October/November this year.Yesterday, the Tour Programme and Fixtures Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided the venues for the series.This will be the West Indies third tour to India in the last four years and Ramdin's first overseas tour as captain.
The Tests will be played in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. The five ODIs will be played in Kolkata, Vishakhapatnam, Cuttack, Dharamshala and Kochi. The T20I will take place in New Delhi. The exact date-wise match-schedule will be finalised later on the basis of logistics.West Indies last arrived in India in 2013 for hastily-arranged tour. The series marked the farewell of Sachin Tendulkar as West Indies played two Tests and three ODIs. They lost both Tests by an innings as they were swept aside 0-2 while they lost the ODI series 1-2. Their only win in the tour came in the second ODI at Vishakhapatnam. West Indies have not won a Test in India since 1994 and they are currently in the midst of a losing spree in Tests.
West Indies have lost series in New Zealand and also on the return leg at home ever since the series against India. Darren Sammy, who was the skipper on the previous tour to India and in New Zealand, was dropped and he retired from Tests just before the start of the home summer.Following Sammy's retirement, Denesh Ramdin was handed the captaincy in the New Zealand series at home but he had a poor start as he lost the Test series 2-1.West Indies are currently ranked No 8 in the Test rankings while India are ranked No 4 in Tests.