India favourite against lacklustre West Indies

On paper, the West Indies is currently no match for India, especially after Jason Holder’s men were held by callow Afghanistan to a 1-1 draw in the brief One-day International (ODI) rubber earlier this month.

Published : Jun 22, 2017 18:45 IST , Port of Spain

India captain Virat Kohli will be tempted to play Mohammed Shami , who hasn't played any official ODI since the 2015 World Cup semi-final.
India captain Virat Kohli will be tempted to play Mohammed Shami , who hasn't played any official ODI since the 2015 World Cup semi-final.
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India captain Virat Kohli will be tempted to play Mohammed Shami , who hasn't played any official ODI since the 2015 World Cup semi-final.

 

Amid the off-field controversies over the exit of head coach Anil Kumble, ICC Champions Trophy runners-up India start as favourite in the first of the five-match ODI series against a lacklusture West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval here on Friday.

On paper, the West Indies is currently no match for the men-in-blue, especially after Jason Holder’s men were held by callow Afghanistan to a 1-1 draw in the brief One-day International (ODI) rubber earlier this month.

Compared to the visitor, which can boast of a collective total of 776 matches among the trio of Yuvraj Singh (301), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (291) and Virat Kohli (184), the West Indies has a cumulative ODI experience of 213 matches between 13 players, skipper Holder being the most-capped player among them with 58 matches to his name.

For India, this series is also an ideal platform to test the team’s bench strength. With Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah from the Champions Trophy squad absent on the tour, Kohli will be tempted to play Ajinkya Rahane at the top besides giving Mohammed Shami a chance in place of Bumrah.

Shami has not played any official ODI since the 2015 World Cup semi-final, after which he had multiple surgeries and only played a few Test matches.

In the batting order, Kohli may induct the hard-hitting Rishabh Pant, the new addition to the squad, while Dinesh Karthik may get a few games if Yuvraj or Kedar Jadhav are rested.

Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav is likely to get his chance in place of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin or left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja-both of whom failed to leave an impact during the ICC Champions Trophy.

On the other hand, the host will bank on its pace battery led by Holder and comprising Alzarri Joseph, Shannon Gabriel, Rovman Powell, and spinners Ashley Nurse and Roston Chase.

The No.9 ranked side will also expect its top order batsmen containing the likes of Evin Lewis, Kieran Powell and Shai Hope to fire, if it is to pose any threat to the No.3-ranked visitor.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Umesh Yadav.

West Indies: Jason Holder (Captain), Jonathan Carter, Miguel Cummins, Alzarri Joseph, Jason Mohammed, Kieran Powell, Kesrick Williams, Devendra Bishoo, Roston Chase, Shai Hope (WK), Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell.

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