Mumbai: Indian pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, on Sunday, said the upcoming tour to West Indies would be a good opportunity for the youngsters to cement their place in the national squad.

“It is a very good opportunity for young players to showcase their talent. It’s a big tour and if they perform well, they can cement their place in the team,” he said during a promotional event.

Senior players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virendra Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh will miss the entire tour, while captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will join the team only for Test series.On the appointment of Suresh Raina as the skipper for the ODIs and T20, Zaheer said, “I want to wish good luck to him. He is a very good cricketer and is performing well for the past two years. I hope he does well.”

The 32-year-old pacer said Dhoni was enjoying a great run as a skipper. “He is having an amazing run. IPL, Champions League, again IPL and in between the World Cup as well. He keeps things simple. He doesn’t complicate things much and maintains calmness. He is a very good captain. I hope that he is even more successful.”        (PTI)