India vs West Indies 2018: 4 milestones that can be achieved by Indian players in the Test series

After dominating the Asia Cup 2018, India is now all set to take on West Indies for two Tests, five ODIs, and three T20Is. The West Indies' tour of India will commence on October 4 with a Test match at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.

BCCI has announced the squad for the Test series against West Indies. Plenty of young faces have been included in the squad for the Test series. Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, and Mohammed Siraj are three of them. Besides that, key bowlers have been rested keeping the Australia tour in mind.

India squad for Windies Tests: Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur.

Thus, before we head into the Test series, let us have a look at four milestones that are expected to be achieved by the Indian team in the upcoming Test series:

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#1 Ajinkya Rahane racing towards the 6500-mark in international cricket

Ajinkya Rahane approaching 6500 international runs

India's deputy to Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, has been India's premier Test batsman for quite a long time now. With as many as 3000 Test runs to his name, Rahane has proved to be a good cadet in India's scheme of things, particularly in Test cricket. However, there has been one thing that has been hitting Ajinkya Rahane in the recent past - his inability to perform on home turfs.

Nonetheless, come the Test series against West Indies, Ajinkya would like better that record with some quality batting display. A good Test series against West Indies with the bat will instil a great sense of confidence in Rahane ahead of the series against Australia in November.

Besides that, Ajinkya Rahane is on the verge of a unique milestone in international cricket. Rahane is just 13 runs shy of the 6500-run mark. Amassing these runs in the coming Test series, the Mumbaikar will become the 20th Indian to score 6500 or more runs in international cricket.

#2 Virat Kohli could become the fastest batsman to hit 60 international centuries

Virat Kohli set to make a world record

Along with the deputy, the Indian captain, Virat Kohli, is also on the brink of a yet another record. Virat Kohli needs to score two more centuries to reach the 60-century mark in international cricket. Scoring these two centuries, Kohli will become the fastest ever batsman in the history of cricket to the reach the mark of 60 international centuries. Currently, Virat has hit 58 international centuries from his 383 innings.

Only four other batsmen have achieved the mark of 60 international centuries: Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, and Jacques Kallis. Moreover, none of these four legendary batsmen have been able to reach the mark in 400 innings. Thus, Virat Kohli has 17 more innings to achieve the feat.

Although reaching the triple figure mark twice in four innings calls for an arduous task, given Virat's hunger for runs, we cannot rule it out. Besides, factors like the home advantage (well, Kohli has been equally brilliant around the globe) will add to the possibility.

#3 Cheteshwar Pujara approaching 5000 Test runs

Pujara expected to breach the 5000-run mark in Test cricket

Cheteshwar Pujara, a technically sound batsman from Saurashtra, will also be racing towards a milestone in Test cricket. Pujara is just 191 runs short of achieving the golden 5000-mark in Test cricket. Scoring these runs in the coming Test series against West Indies, Pujara will become the only 12th Indian to score 5000 or more runs.

In addition to that, if Pujara manages to amass these runs in the coming two innings, he will become the fifth fastest Indian to reach the 5000-run mark in Test cricket. If he fails to do so, he will have a bracket of another 12 innings to become the sixth fastest Indian to achieve the feat.

Pujara will prove to be an influential part of the Indian setup in the coming Test series against West Indies. The right-handed batsman will look to gain a decent amount of confidence ahead of the series against Australia.

#4 Virat Kohli close to scoring 3000 runs at home

You can't keep Virat Kohli away from milestones

It seems that Virat Kohli and milestones go hand in hand. Well, Virat finds one more place on the list with a unique milestone on the cards. The Indian captain requires 79 more runs in Test cricket to complete 3000 Test runs in India alone. Scoring these runs, Kohli will become the 11th Indian in the history of Test cricket to score 3000 or more runs at home.

Besides that, Kohli will also become the only second active Indian player after Pujara to achieve the feat. He will also become the fastest Indian to do so.