Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 26 (IANS) With little over one year left for the ODI World Cup 2027, India ramps up their preparations for the global showpiece as they host West Indies for three ODIs from Sunday onwards, with the opener slated to take place at the Greenfield International Stadium here.
Eyes will also turn to stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both of whom will be in action after some time off the field, with them last playing in the away England ODI series in mid of July.
While Virat has mostly been in strong touch, Rohit stormed back among runs with a century in the third ODI against England as speculations were rife on his future with the Indian team.
With some of India’s top stars away for the Asian Games gold medal defence, India can test their bench strength, with game time crucial for the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, Ramandeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Auqib Nabi.
It would also be interesting to see whether and how many games India give to their third opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is the back-up to Rohit and captain Shubman Gill.
For West Indies, though, this series presents them with strong preparation ahead of the World Cup qualifiers in February next year, as they have not automatically qualified for the 2027 showpiece and would need to come through the long route to avoid the embarrassment of a double World Cup miss after they failed to qualify for the 2023 showpiece.
The first ODI will take place on Sunday, followed by the second one on Wednesday at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, while the third one is slated for October 3 at the PCA International Cricket Stadium, Ground A.
When and where to watch India vs West Indies ODIs?
The ODI series between India and West Indies will be available for telecast on the Star Sports Network, while the streaming will be available on the JioHotstar app and website.
Squads:
India: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir.
West Indies: Shai Hope (c), Jewel Andrew, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Vitel Lawes, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales.
–IANS
vm/bsk/