West Indies captain Darren Sammy today said his young and inexperienced side will face its toughest challenge so far when it takes on India in a three--Test series starting here on Sunday.
"It will be the biggest challenge for the players and for me as captain. India is such a prestigious side with great players. Cricket is religion here. It will be the toughest test for us," Sammy said at the pre--match press conference ahead of the first Test here.
"We cannot be fearful, we have to perform our best. We have to be hungry to do well and give our best," he said.
Only four players - Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Denesh Ramdin and Marlon Samuels - have played more than 20 matches while most of their Indian counterparts are veterans of many Tests.
Sammy, who himself has played just 18 Tests so far, knows the hype surrounding Sachin Tendulkar's impending 100th international ton, but said his side would try to make life difficult for the Indian cricket icon.
"Sachin is a great player. But we don't want to play on names. We will execute our plans against him. As much as we admire Sachin as a great player, we will try to make life difficult for him," he said.
He said the good show in Bangladesh, where the West Indies won a two--match Test series 1--0, has also boosted the team's confidence and they have a measure of sub--continental conditions.
